Goal

Reduction of severe and moderate malnutrition among under-five children by half

Child Child Malnutrition Malnutrition

Where chronic malnutrition is highest

Countries where stunting in under-fives is 40 per cent or more

Korea, Dem. Peoples Rep. Zambia Burundi Nepal Afghanistan Yemen Ethiopia Madagascar Malawi Cambodia Guatemala India Nigeria Bangladesh Congo, Dem. Rep. Lesotho Mauritania Tanzania Rwanda Comoros Lao PDR Bhutan Niger

60 59 57 54 52 52 51 49 49 46 46 46 46 45 45 44 44 44 43 42 41 40 40

Source for all charts, graphs and tables: UNICEF, 2001.

Result
Underweight prevalence declined from 32 per cent to 28 per cent in developing countries over the past decade. The most remarkable progress has been in East Asia and the Pacific.

Progress during the 1990s

Countries where under weight prevalence declined by 25 per cent or more

Tunisia Dominican Rep. Bhutan Chile China Mexico Jamaica Venezuela Guyana Algeria

60 56 51 50 49 46 46 39 36 35 34 34 29 29 28 27 27 26
0 10 20 30 40 Goal: 50% 60 reduction

but
The high levels of undernutrition in children and women in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa pose a major challenge for child survival and development. Progress is made when provision of basic services is combined with support for initiatives that inform and empower communities and families (particularly women) to ensure adequate nutrient intake and prevent infectious disease.

Issue
Malnutrition is associated with about half of all child deaths worldwide. Malnourished children have lowered resistance to infection; they are more likely to die from common childhood ailments like diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections; and for those who survive, frequent illness saps their nutritional status, locking them into a vicious cycle of recurring sickness, faltering growth and diminished learning ability.

Indonesia Colombia Guatemala Bolivia Peru Bangladesh El Salvador Viet Nam

Per cent decline

NUTRITIONAL STATUS IMPROVES

Percentage of under-fives underweight, 1990 and 2000

60 50
Per cent of under-fives underweight

1990 2000

150 million children in developing countries are still malnourished

More than half of underweight children live in South Asia Figures in millions

40 30 20

32 28
Sub-Saharan Africa 32 South Asia 78

10 0
South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East/ North Africa East Asia/ Pacific Latin America/ Caribbean Developing countries

East Asia/Pacific 27

CEE/CIS region is not included in this graph because of insufficient 1990 data.

Middle East/North Africa 7 CEE/CIS 2 Latin America/Caribbean 4

Per cent of under-fives underweight, 1995-2000

Sub-Saharan Africa
Botswana Zimbabwe Congo Lesotho Mauritius Sao Tome and Principe Gambia Senegal Cameroon Cte dIvoire Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Mauritania Central African Rep. Comoros Ghana Malawi Togo Zambia Mozambique Somalia Uganda Nigeria Sierra Leone Chad Benin Rwanda Tanzania Regional average Madagascar Burkina Faso Congo, Dem. Rep. Niger Mali Eritrea Burundi Ethiopia 13 13 14 16 16 16 17 18 21 21 23 23 23 23 24 25 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 27 27 28 29 29 29 30 33 34 34 40 43 44 45 47

Middle East/North Africa

Lebanon Occupied Palestinian Territory Tunisia Jordan Libya Algeria Qatar Bahrain Kuwait Iran Egypt Syria Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Regional average Iraq Sudan Djibouti Oman Yemen 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 15 16 17 18 24 46

South Asia
Bhutan Sri Lanka Pakistan Maldives Regional average Nepal India Bangladesh Afghanistan 19 33 38 43 46 47 47 48 48

Latin America/Caribbean
Chile Cuba Jamaica Costa Rica Dominican Rep. Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela Brazil Colombia Panama Regional average Mexico Peru Bolivia El Salvador Guyana Nicaragua Ecuador Guatemala Honduras Haiti 1 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 15 24 25 28

EIGHT PREV A RW

N CE LE

East Asia/Pacific
China Mongolia Regional average Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Viet Nam Myanmar Lao Peoples Dem. Rep. Cambodia Korea, Dem. Peoples Rep. 10 13 17 18 26 28 33 36 40 46 60

UN D

HE

DEV

E L O PI N G

CEE/CIS
Croatia Yugoslavia Armenia Georgia Moldova, Rep. Russian Federation Ukraine Bosnia and Herzegovina Kazakhstan TFYR Macedonia Regional average Turkey Kyrgyzstan Albania Azerbaijan Uzbekistan 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 6 7 8 11 14 17 19

Old data or no data:

Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Liberia, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland Middle East/North Africa: Cyprus, Morocco East Asia/Pacific: Brunei Darussalam, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fed. States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Latin America/Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent/Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago CEE/CIS: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

OR LD
W

28%

IN