Malnutrition

Child malnutrition and poverty are inextricably linked and should be tackled together, including and especially in contexts facing recurrent and multiple shocks. UNICEF’s Programming Guidance “Building synergies between child nutrition and social protection to address malnutrition and poverty”(2024) aims to provide guidance to assist managers and…

Undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and anaemia amplify gender inequalities by lowering learning potential, wages and life opportunities for adolescent girls and women, weakening their immunity to infections, and increasing their risk of life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth. In ‘Undernourished and Overlooked: A…

The number of children living in food and nutrition insecurity is rising because of the intersecting crisis of conflict, climate induced drought and the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.  UNICEF’s No Time to Waste Acceleration Plan 2022–2023 aims to reach over 26 million children and women with a package of essential maternal and child…

Most people have never heard of wasting, also known as ‘severe acute malnutrition.’ But it is one of the leading underlying causes of preventable deaths in young children. Conflicts, and climate crises that destroy access to healthy diets, are causing that number to rise. But even in fairly stable countries, child wasting has been on the rise. ‘…, What is severe wasting? Wasting, defined as low weight-for-height, is the most visible and lethal type of malnutrition. Severe wasting, also known as severe acute malnutrition, is its most deadly form. It is caused by a lack of nutritious food and repeated bouts of diseases such as diarrhoea, measles and malaria, which compromise a child’s…, An escalating problem…, Ethiopia. A woman walks past shelters at a site for internally displaced persons. A woman walks past shelters at a site for internally displaced persons in Ethiopia. Countries across a variety of regions have seen a rise in wasting levels since 2016. There’s no single reason for this alarming rise. But cases are rapidly increasing in areas…, …and a largely invisible one, Cambodia. A woman holds her daughter who suffers from severe acute malnutrition. A woman in Ten Ngol village, Cambodia, sits with her daughter, who suffers from severe acute malnutrition. About a quarter of children suffering from severe wasting live in emergency contexts that generate news headlines, often with images of excruciatingly emaciated…, But it’s preventable and treatable, Venezuela. A boy eats a ready-to-use therapeutic food during a nutrition screening day in Zulia. A boy eats a ready-to-use therapeutic food during a nutrition screening day in Zulia, Venezuela. A relatively small additional investment – by donors, governments and other financial instruments – would dramatically reduce child death rates. And it…, How is UNICEF responding?, Mauritania. A UNICEF nutrition specialist holds a malnourished baby at a nutrition rehabilitation centre. A UNICEF nutrition specialist holds a malnourished baby at a nutrition rehabilitation centre in Nouakchott, Mauritania. In southern Madagascar, UNICEF provided life-saving treatment to more than 60,000 severely wasted children in 2021 – four…, What is UNICEF calling for?, Donors and governments to fully fund the Global Action Plan to scale up treatment on a massive scale, provide multi-year funding that will enable continuous services, and cover treatment for child wasting under health and long-term development funding. Donors to ensure that budget allocations to address the global hunger crisis include specific…, UNICEF CHILD ALERT May 2022 An overlooked child survival emergency Severe wasting UNICEF CHILD ALERT Severe wasting An overlooked child survival emergency Contents Key messages 1 Foreword 3 The global scope and impact of child wasting 4 Box 1: Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF): the gold standard for wasting treatment 8 Box 2: The Mid-Upper Arm…

National governments have the primary responsibility of upholding children’s and women’s rights to nutrition. To do this effectively, they need strong, resilient systems that help prevent all forms of malnutrition and deliver timely treatment and care when prevention falls short. Multiple systems – including food, health and social protection –…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Food Systems for Children: UNICEF in Action for Food Systems Transformation Food Systems for Children: UNICEF in Action for Food Systems Transformation UNICEF Nutrition, for every child Nutrition, for Every Child: UNICEF Nutrition Strategy, 2020–2030 UNICEF The State of the…, UNICEF’s response, UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2019 State of the World’s Children 2019 report highlighted the failure of food systems to deliver nutritious, safe and affordable diets for children, and issued a call to action to realize every child’s right to adequate nutrition over the next decade. Our approach to transforming food systems is based on the…, Ten key actions to improve young children's diets, Food system 1. Increase the availability and affordability of nutritious foods – including fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, meat and fortified foods – by incentivizing their production, distribution and retailing.  2. Implement national standards and legislation to protect young children from unhealthy processed and ultra-processed foods and…

Countries with poor nutrition governance have weak or limited policies protecting maternal and child nutrition – and few accountability mechanisms. Decision-making may be influenced by political or corporate interests rather than the nutrition needs and rights of children and women. In these settings, the most vulnerable are often least able to…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF Nutrition, for every child Nutrition, for Every Child: UNICEF Nutrition Strategy, 2020–2030 UNICEF The State of the World’s Children 2019 The State of the World’s Children, 2019: Children, food and nutrition UNICEF UNICEF Global Annual Results Report 2020: Goal Area 1 Nutrition, for Every Child: Global Annual Results Report…, UNICEF’s response, A man in Pakistan holds a child, in 2006. A man in Pakistan holds a child in 2006. UNICEF helps strengthen the capacities of governments for good nutrition governance. To do this, we convene strategic partnerships, UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women generate data , share knowledge, advocate for children’s right to…

Emergencies around the world have become increasingly complex and protracted. Driven by conflict, climate change, Child nutrition and COVID-19 epidemics , and disasters, humanitarian crises are leaving millions of children and women malnourished and jeopardizing their survival, growth and development. Humanitarian crises are often characterized by…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition Data Global Nutrition Cluster Global Nutrition Cluster Global Nutrition Cluster Website Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance Website UNICEF Core Commitments for Children Core Commitments to…, UNICEF’s response, Sham, 3 months old, receives her vaccinations in one of the UNICEF-supported health clinics in Azraq Refugee Camp, Jordan, in 2019. Three-month-old Sham receives her vaccinations in one of the UNICEF-supported health clinics in Azraq Refugee Camp, Jordan, in 2019. UNICEF’s actions to prevent and treat malnutrition during emergencies are guided by…

Wasting is the most immediate, visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition. It results from the failure to prevent malnutrition among the most vulnerable children. Children with wasting are too thin and their immune systems are weak, leaving them vulnerable to developmental delays, disease and death. Some children affected by wasting also…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF Famine Prevention and Mitigation, UNICEF Position Paper UNICEF No Time To Waste. Improving diets, services and practices for the prevention, early detection and treatment of wasting in early childhood UNICEF Child Nutrition UNICEF Nutrition Data WHO, WFP, SCN, UNICEF WHO, WFP, SCN and UNICEF Joint Statement on Community-…, UNICEF’s response, When efforts to prevent malnutrition fall short, early detection and treatment of children with wasting and other life-threatening forms of malnutrition are critical to save their lives and put them on the path to healthy growth and development. In most cases, children with wasting can be treated with Nutrition ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF…

Women have distinct nutritional requirements throughout their life – especially before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, when nutritional vulnerability is greatest. Ensuring women have nutritious diets and adequate services and care is fundamental for the survival and well-being of mothers and their children. Before pregnancy, women…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF Undernourished and Overlooked Nutrition Crisis Girls and Women Undernourished and Overlooked: A global nutrition crisis in adolescent girls and women UNICEF Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation: An approach to improving women’s nutrition during pregnancy and preventing low birthweight  UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF…, UNICEF’s response, A mother, 19 years old, breastfeeds her infant in India, in 2010. A mother, 19 years old, breastfeeds her infant in India, in 2010. Improving women’s diets, access to nutrition services, and nutrition and care practices – before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding – is critical to preventing malnutrition in all its forms. This is…

After early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence – the period from age 5 to 19 – is a second window of opportunity for growth, psychosocial development, and establishing lifelong dietary and lifestyle habits. Good nutrition during this period fuels growing brains and bodies, and improves school enrolment, educational achievement and…, Resources,     Publisher Title UNICEF A Systems Approach to Improving Children’s Diets A Systems Approach to Improving Children’s Diets UNICEF Shifting the Narrative on Childhood Overweight & Obesity: A new playbook for effective advocacy Shifting the Narrative on Childhood Overweight & Obesity: A new playbook for effective advocacy UNICEF Food…, UNICEF’s response, Kufekisa (18 yrs), Dorcas (17 yrs), Haggar (19 yrs) and Joshua (17 yrs) are all learners at the Nampundwe Secondary School who received education bursaries as part of the UNICEF supported SEEVCA sites in the Shibuyunji District Lusaka. Students at the Nampundwe Secondary School in Zambia, 2020. The prevention of malnutrition in school-age children…

Children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. The most critical time for good nutrition is during the 1,000-day period from pregnancy until a child’s second birthday. In the first two years of life, breastfeeding saves lives, shields children from disease, boosts brain development and guarantees…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF Community IYCF Counselling Package Community Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling Package UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Improving Young Children’s Diets During the Complementary Feeding Period – UNICEF Programming Guidance, 2020 Improving Young Children’s Diets during the Complementary…, UNICEF’s response, Alimatou Goïta, 23 months, who suffers from stunting, during a follow-up with her mother. In Mali, 23-month-old Alimatou Goïta, who suffers from stunting, receives nutrition support at a health centre with her mother in 2019. Improving the quality of children’s foods and feeding practices in the earliest years of life is the cornerstone of…

Good nutrition is the bedrock of child survival, growth, and development. Well-nourished children are better able to learn, play and participate in their communities. They are also more resilient in the face of illness and crisis. Since 2000, the world has reduced the proportion of children under 5 suffering from stunting by one third and the…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition, for Every Child: UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020–2030 Nutrition, for Every Child: UNICEF Nutrition Strategy, 2020–2030 UNICEF The State of the World’s Children 2023: Children, food and nutrition UNICEF Nutrition, for Every Child: Global Annual Results Report, 2022…, UNICEF’s response, Mothers wait outside Washe Faka Health Post with their children in Mareko Woreda (district) in SNNP Region, one of the drought-affected regions in Ethiopia where UNICEF provides health and nutrition support including ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), therapeutic milks, routine medications and support for community-based management of acute…, Explore areas of our work, child eating Early childhood nutrition, Children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. The most critical time for good nutrition is during the 1,000-day period from pregnancy until a child’s second birthday. Learn more, Rashid and Majid are friends and eat mixed vegetable soup at Herat Park, a western province of Afghanistan. Nutrition in middle childhood and adolescence, After early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence – the period from age 5 to 19 – is a second window of opportunity for growth, psychosocial development, and establishing lifelong dietary and lifestyle habits. Learn more, Razoeliarinala Tamby, 26, buys food at a market in Ambanitsena, Madagascar, 2019. Maternal nutrition, During pregnancy and breastfeeding, women become particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Energy and nutrient needs increase at this time, and meeting them is critical to protecting women’s health and that of their child – in the womb and throughout early childhood. Learn more, Fatima, a 10-month-old baby, is screened by doctors and diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, in the hospital of the Kishim district in the North of Afghanistan. Nutrition and care for children with wasting, Wasting is the most immediate, visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition. It results from the failure to prevent malnutrition among the most vulnerable children. Learn more, Mundene, 21, is screened for malnutrition as she cradles her two-month-old baby Melesech at the Gedebe Health Post in Halaba Special Woreda, Ethiopia, in 2016. Maternal and child nutrition in humanitarian action, Driven by conflict, climate change, epidemics, and disasters, humanitarian crises are leaving millions of children and women malnourished and jeopardizing their survival, growth and development. Learn more, A child holds up plastic bananas during a class at a community pre-school in Sokang Commune, Cambodia, in 2015. Partnerships and governance for nutrition, Countries with poor nutrition governance have weak or limited policies protecting maternal and child nutrition – and few accountability mechanisms. Decision-making may be influenced by political or corporate interests rather than the nutrition needs and rights of children and women. In these settings, the most vulnerable are often least able to…, Happy children in the village of Kpatrakaha, in the region of Korhogo, in the North of Côte d’Ivoire, 2020. Making systems work for nutrition, National governments have the primary responsibility of upholding children’s and women’s rights to nutrition. To do this effectively, they need strong, resilient systems that help prevent all forms of malnutrition and deliver timely treatment and care when prevention falls short. Multiple systems – including food, health, water and sanitation,…, Key planned results for 2025, Nutrition partnerships, UNICEF collaborates with many nutrition partners at global, regional and country levels to scale up nutrition policies, strategies and programmes that accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals , including Goal 2: to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition. As part of its convening role,…