Public health experts on Tuesday in a webinar called for a ‘regulatory body’ to oversee the services of the nutritionists and dieticians in Bangladesh.
Nutritionists and dieticians are the professionals who provide scientific knowledge about food to the people. But due to the lack of regulations, some of the dieticians tend to promote different food brands through their social media by using their profession, projecting unscientific attitude to the public, and putting the status of public health in danger.
This was told at the 1st national consultation meeting on ‘Code of Ethics of Nutritionist and Dietician’s Profession’ organised by Eminence and Bangladesh Civil Society Network for Promoting Nutrition (BCSNPN).
Former Director-General for health Prof Shah Monir Hossain; Director General of BNNC Dr. Md. Khalilur Rahman; Former Director-General of BNNC Dr. Md. Shah Nawaz; Member of BMDC Prof Dr. Sharfuddin Ahmed; Line Director of NNS Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Country Director of Alive & Thrive in Bangladesh Dr. Zeba Mahmud; Professor of INFS, DU Dr. Nazma Shaheen, President of Bangladesh Health Reporters’ Forum Toufiq Maruf; and Professor and Head of Pediatrics Department of ICMH Dr. Wahida Khanam were present as panel speakers in the webinar. CEO of Eminence Dr. Shamim Hayder Talukder moderated the session.
Every year roughly 300 nutritionists graduate from different institutions and universities and seek to work in the development sector, UN agencies, donor organisations, and hospitals, or become private practitioners.
But there is no regulatory authority in place to ensure the quality, especially those working in the hospitals as dieticians, said a press release.
There is no existence of any comprehensive guidelines as well to define the roles and functions of dieticians. The professionals are not regulated by law and are not governed by any code of conduct to ensure that they always work to the highest standards.
The speakers of the webinar recommended that there should be a ‘steering committee’ for clinical nutritionists and dieticians to monitor and evaluate the services they are providing. They also suggested a ‘well-structured’ system for certification, evaluation, internship, and service of the clinical nutritionists and dieticians.
