45. The BNHRC shares the concern of the Committee on the Rights of the Child that malnutrition remains a serious problem in Bangladesh. BDHS 2007 found that nearly half (46 per cent) of children under five were still moderately to severely underweight. About two-fifths of children under five years of age were underweight, and nearly half of them suffered from chronic malnutrition (stunting). BDHS 2007 found that 41 per cent of children under five years of age were underweight. The national Household Food Security and Nutrition Assessment (HFSNA 2009) conducted between November 2008 and January 2009 found an underweight prevalence of 37.4 per cent for this age group.The HFSNA found that 48.6 per cent of children under five years of age were chronically malnourished (stunted), which is even worse than the level of 43.2 per cent found in BDHS 2007. The rate of acute malnutrition (wasting) among under-five children in the HFSNA 2009 was 13.5 per cent. The HFSNA 2009 found that children aged 6-23 months were more likely to be malnourished than children aged 24-59 months. The youngest children presented the highest acute malnutrition rates: one-fifth of among infants aged 6-11 months and 16 per cent among children aged 12-14 months. A study by the Government and UNICEF in 2004 found that more than two-thirds of children under five years of age were anemic, with the highest prevalence among infants of 6-11 months of age (92 per cent). 49 46. The BNHRC has observed that although the GoB made some significant progresses as regards infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, the Fifth Periodic State Party Report did not provide information on the minority and indigenous children’s right to equal enjoyment health service. 47. RIGHT TO EDUCATION The BNHRC underlines that according to the Constitution, ‘education’ was one of the basic necessities of life and it was a fundamental responsibility of the government to provide education to the citizens.50 In Bangladesh, the Compulsory Primary Education Act 1990 made the five-year primary education program free in all governmental schools. 51 48. The BNHRC appreciates that the National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 aims to ensure compulsory and free primary education for all children who are engaged as child-workers by 2010-2015.52 The National Children Policy 2011 provides that for ensuring pre-primary education for child development, pre-primary education centers shall be opened and training sessions arranged for teachers of these centers.53 The National Children Policy 2011 particularly aims at achieving, among others, the following objectives: 49 Supra 41, at pp. 86-88. Supra 44. 51 Arpeeta Shams Mizan and Muhammad Rezaur Rahman, Study Report on Diverse Streams of Education in Bangladesh and Realization of the Right to Education, 2012, p. 21. 52 The National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010, p. 11. 53 The National Children Policy 2011, Para 6.4.2 50 19