AFRICA Regional overview of food security and nutrition 2021: Statistics and trends

The Global Breastfeeding Collective, led by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO, identified seven actions needed to enable women to breastfeed: adequately funded breastfeeding programmes, regulation of marketing of breast-milk substitutes, maternity protection in the workplace, compliance with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, access to breastfeeding counselling and training, availability of community support programmes, and consistent monitoring.^{20 20} Global Breastfeeding Collective. 2017. Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, 2018. Tracking Progress for Breastfeeding Policies and Programmes. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-breastfeeding-scorecard-2018-enabling-women-to-breastfeed-through-better-policies-and-programmes

3.3 Prevalence of low birthweight

The prevalence of low birthweight is 13.7 percent in Africa, lower than the global average (Figure 20 and Table 12). Many countries achieved small improvements between 2000 and 2015 (Figure 21), but no subregion is on track towards meeting the WHA low birthweight target for 2030. However, all subregions have made some progress, except for Northern and Southern Africa, where the situation has worsened.^{21 21} FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO. 2021. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021. Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4474en

Reducing the incidence of low birthweight requires improved access to and quality of care for mothers and infants. Context-specific, gender-sensitive interventions that help women achieve greater access to appropriate health and maternal care are essential. The health and nutritional status of girls, adolescents and women are key, as stunted and poorly nourished girls can become poorly nourished mothers at risk of giving birth to infants with low birthweights and other pre and postnatal challenges.^{22 22} WHO. 2014. WHA Global Nutrition Targets 2025: Low Birth Weight Policy Brief. Geneva, World Health Organization.