Solutions Panorama

Combating Malnutrition
Among Garment Workers
Featuring:
Global Alliance for Improved
Nutrition (GAIN); Business for
Social Responsibility (BSR);
Change Associates; International
Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease
Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
Where:
Bangladesh
Time Frame:
2015 - 2030
DESCRIPTION
Nutrition is a multi-dimensional issue that demands multistakeholder,
cross-sector collaboration. With positive links to
development, sound nutrition is getting the attention it deserves
in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Goal 2, which
focuses on hunger, calls for an end to all forms of malnutrition
by 2030 and highlights the nutritional needs of adolescent
girls, pregnant and lactating women, and children under five
years of age. This goal is particularly relevant in countries
like Bangladesh, where, 4 in 10 pregnant women suffer from
anemia. Anemia causes fatigue and reduces concentration and
productivity; an estimated 7.9 percent of Bangladesh’s gross
domestic product is lost due to anemia alone. There is also an
intergenerational impact, linking anemia in women and babies to
low birth weight and impaired growth and brain development.
The garment industry in Bangladesh employs 4 million people—80
percent of them women—and is well placed to develop and
test scalable solutions to reduce malnutrition and improve the
wellbeing of workers and their children. To better understand
the landscape, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
– through a grant from the Netherlands – funded and provided
technical expertise to Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
and Change Associates to:
• Conduct a nutritional assessment of factory workers, sites
and surroundings;
• Develop nutrition interventions within factory settings,
incorporating behavior change, supplementation, better
factory menus, and improved access to nutritious food in and
outside the factory;
• Study the business and health benefits of nutrition
interventions;
• Promote positive workplace nutrition practices with the
Government of Bangladesh, factory management, global
buyers, and relevant stakeholders.
GOAL
The pilot project in Bangladesh aims to improve the
nutritional status of women working for suppliers of two
multinational clothing retailers. GAIN’s technical expertise
strengthens the nutrition components of the project, while
BSR provides a platform for GAIN to test its fortified foods
and nutrition supplements. Additionally, a rigorous impact
evaluation by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal
Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) will inform the
scale-up phase and gather evidence to support investing in
workers’ health and nutrition in global supply chains.
GAIN seeks to demonstrate that investing in improved health
and nutrition will not only improve the nutritional status of
female workers, but will also reduce absenteeism, improve
retention and productivity, increase workers’ loyalty, and
improve factory reputation.
LEARN MORE
“The Burden of Anemia in Rural Bangladesh: The Need for
Urgent Action,” Helen Keller International, Bangladesh
Current Practices in Food and Childcare-Service Provision in
Bangladesh’s RMG Factories; bsr.org
“Current Practices in Food and Childcare-Service Provision in
Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment Factories: A Situational
Analysis Report,” Marat Yu and Lenin Khan
Submitted by Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
WOMEN DELIVER 2016 CONFERENCE: SOLUTIONS PANORAMA 18