KATHMANDU: The World Bank is increasing its efforts in Nepal at helping authorities and communities improve the nutritional status of the country's most vulnerable populations.

This is one of the first World Bank assisted multi-sector nutrition project in the South Asia region, according to Rajib Upadhyaya, Senior External Affairs Specialist of World Bank in Nepal.

The project will engage a wide range of actors across government and civil society in the areas of health, poverty reduction, social protection, water and sanitation, agriculture, local development and education in the planning and implementation.

A 40 million US dollars grant and credit has been approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors Wednesday to complement Nepal's ongoing programs in nutrition.

"The high rates of under nutrition nearly two in every five Nepali children under the age of five are stunted with nearly a third underweight require urgent and coordinated action by multiple institutions to attack this silent killer," according to Tahseen Sayed, the World Bank Country Manager for Nepal.

Earlier this month in the capital Kathmandu, the World Bank organized a Knowledge Forum where nearly 200 leading nutrition experts and practitioners from governments, civil society organizations development partners across the South Asia region shared lessons and experience in improving infant and young child nutrition.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 29th June 2012