The objective of this study is todemonstrate how the interaction between sectors can beimproved to increase the effectiveness of sectoralinterventions, and how the interventions in the agriculturalsector and microfinance can be used to improve nutritionaloutcomes. The study will examine what has been done toimprove nutrition through interventions in the agriculturesector and microcredit programmes in Bangladesh and aroundthe world, how they were implemented and to the extentpossible, what the impact of those interventions was. Thepopulations of primary concern for this study are infants,children and women of childbearing age, the group that isthe target of many of the millennium development goals. Thestudy will also pay special attention to the extent to whichprogrammes and policies are successful at reaching poor andvulnerable groups in society and thus, reduce inequalitiesin nutrition. The introduction provides the background andrationale for this work. Chapter two assesses the status ofmalnutrition in Bangladesh, provides a brief history ofpolicies and programmes to address malnutrition in thecountry and lays out the case for a multi-sectoral responseto malnutrition. Chapter three reviews the potential role ofinterventions in the agriculture sector, including existingevidence on the impact of such interventions andinstitutional and other challenges to enhancing the impact.Chapter four provides a similar review of the role ofmicrocredit programmes in improving nutrition outcomes.Recommendations on using multi-sectoral approaches toimprove nutrition in Bangladesh are the subject of chapter five.