Bangladesh Child and Mother Nutrition Survey

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducts the Child Nutrition Surveys (CNS) to track progress towards the alleviation of malnutrition in Bangladesh. Five such surveys were conducted every 3-5 years between 1985-86 and 2000. This Child and Mother Nutrition Survey of 2005 (CMNS) was the sixth in the series of surveys, which for the first time included mothers as well as children. Like previous surveys, the CMNS has been conducted in the same sample areas and households as the 2005 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). This enabled the nutritional data to be analysed with socio-economic data from the HIES. The CMNS covered 3069 households having at least one under five children, and included 3797 children and 3050 mothers. It has adopted the new growth reference standards of the World Health Organization for anthropometric indices of underweight, stunting and wasting. The 2005 report presents the nutritional status of children and mothers by age, sex, area of residence, seasonality, socio-economic status. It also provides information on underlying determinants of malnutrition, including household food security, caring practices, health environment and health services.