Dhaka: Health experts have underscored the need to strengthen the role of nutritionists and dietitians to improve public health, prevent non-communicable diseases, and ensure evidence-based nutrition services across Bangladesh. They emphasized that modernizing clinical dietetic services and developing skilled human resources have become essential to improving patient care and accelerating recovery.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the observations came at a national dialogue titled ‘Advancement of Clinical Dietetics to Ensure Better Patient Care’ held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital. The event was organized by Shushasther Bangladesh, bringing together policymakers, physicians, nutritionists, dietitians, academics, and researchers from the health, nutrition, and education sectors.
Dr. Kazi Saifuddin Bennur, Chairman of Shushasther Bangladesh and Director of the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC), chaired the event. He urged nutrition professionals to engage more actively in research, noting that the BMRC is ready to support them. Dr. Bennur stressed the importance of translating research findings into entrepreneurship and public welfare initiatives.
Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Affairs, Dr. S M Ziauddin Haider, highlighted the need to increase both the quality and number of health professionals in the country. He stated that the health system should shift from being solely treatment-oriented to prevention-focused, with nutritionists playing a stronger role in mainstream healthcare to ensure healthy longevity. Dr. Haider also advocated for expanding the deployment of dietitians to the grassroots level, improving education standards, revising curricula, and establishing a regulatory framework for the profession. He mentioned that a dedicated regulatory system for dietitians would be introduced in the future.
The keynote paper was presented by Shamsunnahar Mahua, Chief Nutritionist at BIRDEM Hospital. She discussed the increasing importance of scientific nutrition services in preventing malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancer. Mahua emphasized the need to develop skilled professionals, strengthen professional capacity, and expand research in clinical nutrition.
The dialogue opened with welcome remarks from Syed Md Baki Billah Tutul, a member of Shushasther Bangladesh, and Tamanna Chowdhury, Principal Dietitian at Evercare Hospital. Concluding remarks were delivered by Chowdhury Tasnim Hasin, Chief Dietitian at Continental Hospital. During the discussion, Health Sector Reform Committee member and researcher Dr. Liaquat Ali stressed the necessity of mandatory government registration and licensing for professional dietitians. Meanwhile, the CEO of Renata Pharmaceuticals called for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors to promote the development of therapeutic nutrition products.