Chapter 2 Sustainable Development Goal 2.2: Malnutrition
2.2 WASTING AMONG CHILDREN UNDER 5
Children suffering from this form of malnutrition are the most vulnerable to the severe impacts of the pandemic as their households deal with food insecurity and other shocks with the potential to negatively affect child health and nutrient intake.
The share of children under 5 years of age affected by wasting in Asia and the Pacific was 9.9 percent in 2020, higher than the global average of 6.7 percent (Table 7). The subregion with the highest proportion of children with wasting was Southern Asia (14.1 percent), followed by Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand (9 percent), South-eastern Asia (8.2 percent) and Eastern Asia (1.7 percent).
TABLE 7.
Prevalence of wasting among children under 5 (percent)
2020
World
6.7
Asia and the Pacific
9.9
Eastern Asia
1.7
Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand
9.0
South-eastern Asia
8.2
Southern Asia
14.1
Note: Please refer to Annex IV for the country coverage of this report. In particular, Central Asia and Western Asia are not included. Source: UNICEF, WHO & World Bank. 2021. Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition. UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates. Key findings of the 2021 edition. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jme-report-2021
FIGURE 5.
Prevalence of wasting among children under 5 in Asia and the Pacific by country (latest year available)
Note: Please refer to Annex IV for the country coverage of this report. In particular, Central Asia and Western Asia are not included. Source: UNICEF, WHO & World Bank. 2021. Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition. UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates. Key findings of the 2021 edition. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jme-report-2021 https://doi.org/10.4060/CC3843EN-fig05
The significantly higher prevalences of wasting in Southern Asia and South-eastern Asia are reflected in data from individual countries (Figure 5). While most countries in the former subregion have a prevalence of wasting at 10 percent or below, three countries in the latter (India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) have a prevalence above 12 percent. In the Pacific region, the prevalence of wasting in Papua New Guinea is 14 percent. These concerning figures point to requirement of actions that need to be urgent, deep rooted and substantial if wasting is to be ended. The global action plan on child wasting provides such a framework for action to accelerate progress in preventing and managing child wasting.22FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2020. Global action plan on child wasting: a framework for action to accelerate progress in preventing and managing child wasting and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Geneva, WHO. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-action-plan-on-child-wasting-a-framework-for-action
