Undernutrition is strongly associated with poverty - levels of undernutrition are higher in poor countries than in better-off countries [
1]. Of the world’s 736 million extreme poor (those living on less than US$1.90 a day or A$ 2.60) in 2015, 368 million, or half of the total, lived in India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. All of these countries also recorded very high levels of undernutrition [
2]. Besides, there is growing evidence that, within countries, the poor suffer from higher rates of undernutrition than the non-poor. In 2017 in Bangladesh, 24% of people lived below the poverty line compared to 49% in 2000 [
3]. Reflecting this decline in poverty has been a corresponding improvement in child undernutrition. Despite this progress, there remains an estimated 21 million people living in extreme poverty, and child stunting remains high in rural populations (30.8% for under-5 children), and especially amongst the poorest 20% of households (40.2% for under-5 children) [
4]. More than 20% of newborns in Bangladesh have low birth weight, which is amongst the highest levels worldwide [
5,
6]. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to increase undernutrition in vulnerable households due to an increase in food insecurity and reduced curative and preventive health services [
7]. Adequate nutrition during the critical 1000-day window from conception to 2 years of age ensures long-term health and survival [
8,
9]. Stunting of child linear growth is largely irreversible after the age of 2 years and leads to lower cognitive and educational attainment, and lower-income and socioeconomic status [
8,
10,
11]. Improving maternal nutrition is critical to reducing low birth weight and improving child undernutrition.