EDITOR’S NOTE.

It is our pleasure to welcome you all to the second volume of the Journal of Population and Development (JPD). This volume contains several important and contemporary issues and challenges of broader population and development discourse in Bangladesh. The manuscripts were finally selected for publication by the Editorial Board after a critical review by the competent experts and scholars in the field.

Using BDHS data, Dass and Uddin examined the effects of unintended birth on child nutrition in Bangladesh. Important evidences were found between the association between unintended birth and child malnutrition in Bangladesh. Islam applies multivariate causality to examine the relationship between health expenditure and economic growth for Bangladesh by using data from 2000 to 2017 to shed further light on the COVID-19 situation generated ongoing debate between economic growth and health expenditure. The findings suggest that spending on the health sector should go side by side to achieve higher economic growth. Khan and his colleagues used a document survey technique to critically analyse and summarize previous research into the historical evolution of social development in Bangladesh. Several determining factors like education, health, the standard of living, and gender relations were found critical to explaining the extent of social development in Bangladesh society. Bhuiyan and Sultana assessed the technical efficiency of Bangladesh's primary health care facilities using data envelopment analysis. The study found the majority of the facilities technically inefficient, and financial losses occur in the form of a waste of resources. Sultan and his colleagues assessed the social gradients of childhood morbidity and malnutrition in Bangladesh by examining the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019. The findings suggest that policymakers should adopt policies targeting to reduce socioeconomic disparities for childhood morbidity and malnutrition. Rana and his colleagues assessed the prevalence of maternal and child malnutrition, dietary diversity, infant and early childhood feeding practices, and their association with the undernutrition of squatter and street-side dwellers in a poor urban setting in Dhaka. High maternal and child malnutrition was found among the squatter and street-side dwellers mother and children, which implied health and nutrition assistance to these improvised urban occupiers. Akhter and her colleagues examined the relationship between socio-demographic factors and obesity among primary school-going children in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. It was found that age, sex, birth weight of the child, residence, fathers’ Body Mass Index (BMI), mothers BMI, and the family size was factors associated with obesity of children. The authors suggest initiating awareness programs and policy interventions to eliminate gender stereotypes in food distribution to reduce obesity. Siddiqua and Uddin looked at the slum-dwelling women’s health EDITOR’S NOTE vulnerability in Dhaka through a qualitative approach. These women were found as a ‘muted group’ due to their socio-economically neglected position generated from the patriarchal norms and prejudices to access their basic health rights and achieve personal well-being.

I wish to express my profound thanks to the colleagues at the Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka, the contributor to this volume, the reviewers, members of the editorial board, the copy editor, and particularly the associate editors - Professor Dr. Mohammad Bellal Hossain and Mr. Md Mehedi Hasan Khan - for their unstinted efforts in hours of spending in manuscript evaluation and editorial tasks. My special thanks to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for continuing generous support to publish this journal. Reiterating our position outlined in the first volume, I would like  to reaffirm that this journal will remain a centerpiece for the researchers, academicians, professionals, policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders interested in multidimensional issues of population and development.

Articles 

Unintended Birth and Its Effect on Child Nutrition in Bangladesh

Samorita Dass; M Sheikh Giash Uddin

A Multivariate Causality Analysis between Health Expenditure and Economic Growth: Which Comes First for the Economy of Bangladesh?

Qamarullah Bin Tariq Islam

Rise of the Concepts and Indicators of Social Development: Insights from the Experience of Bangladesh

Niaz Ahmed Khan; Ebney Ayaj Rana; Md. Reazul Haque

Technical Efficiency and Productivity at the Community Clinics in Bangladesh: Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Sharmeen Mobin Bhuiyan; Nasrin Sultana

Social Gradients of Childhood Morbidity and Malnutrition in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019

Shafayat Sultan; Md. Mahir Faysal ; Md. Zakiul Alam

Undernutrition and Dietary Diversity of Children and Mothers Living in Poor Urban Settings in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A Cross-sectional Study

Ziaul H. Rana; Mohammad K. Alam; Saiful Islam; Israr Ahamed; Md. Ruhul Amin

Socio-demographic Factors Associated with Obesity among Primary School Children: A Cross-sectional Survey from Khulna District of Bangladesh

Shahinur Akter; Md. Habibur Rahman; Shaharior Rahman Razu

Socio-Cultural Causes of Slum Dwelling Women’s Health Vulnerability: A Qualitative Study in the Korail Slum of Dhaka City

Rahnuma Ayesha Siddiqua; Farid Uddin