When Supriya Das looks at her daughter today, she sees more than a healthy child. She sees a future filled with possibility. 

“When my daughter was four months old, she weighed 3.8 kg. I could tell she was underweight, but I did not know what I should do,” she recalls. 

And things did not change for her overnight. 

This 24-year-old mother lives in South Jelepara, Chattogram, on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh. She shares a small home with five other family members. Her husband’s income from a garment factory supports the entire household, leaving little room for nutritious food or healthcare beyond the family’s immediate needs.

Lack of knowledge and inadequate financial resources are two common realities in many low-income urban communities in Bangladesh which puts pregnant and lactating mothers like Supriya and their children at greater risk of malnutrition. 

Like many mothers in similar circumstances, Supriya also was worried constantly about her daughter’s nutrition. She was eventually identified as a vulnerable mother from a low-income household when the Livelihoods Support for Urban Poor Communities in Bangladesh (LSUPCB) Project started working in her community.

The project is an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh, with support from the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) through the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and started in September 2025.

The programme runs community-based nutrition awareness sessions, along with individual counselling when required. The sessions cover topics such as breastfeeding, nutritious food and food diversity, maternal and child health, hygiene and balanced diets.

These taught Supriya practical ways to improve her family’s nutrition using affordable, locally available foods and helped her understand that good nutrition depends not only on having more food, but also on making informed choices with the resources available.

Beyond the sessions, she also received a monthly nutrition food basket containing essential food items, including eggs, red lentils and soybean oil. She introduced healthier feeding practices and improved hygiene at home. She also ensured that her daughter received timely immunizations and Vitamin A supplementation.

After a few months, her child’s weight increased by around 7 kg.

“The nutrition group sessions have changed our food habits and improved our awareness of maternal and child health,” she says.