Postgraduate education in nutrition in south Asia: a huge mismatch between investments and needs

BACKGROUND: Despite decades of nutrition advocacy and programming, the nutrition situation in South Asian countries is alarming. We assume that modern training in nutrition at the post graduate level is an important contributor to building the capacity of individuals to think and act effectively when combating undernutrition. In this context, this paper presents a regional situation analysis of master's level academic initiatives in nutrition with a special focus on the type of programme we think is most likely to be helpful in addressing undernutrition at the population level: Public Health Nutrition (PHN). METHODS: This situational analysis of Masters in nutrition across South Asian countries viz. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan was conducted using an intensive and…