Is malnutrition declining? An analysis of changes in levels of child malnutrition since 1980

nutritional status is the best global indicator of well-being in children. although many surveys of children have been conducted since the 1970s, lack of comparability between them has made it difficult to monitor trends in child malnutrition. cross-sectional data from 241 nationally representative surveys were analysed in a standard way to produce comparable results of low height-for-age (stunting). multilevel modelling was applied to estimate regional and global trends from 1980 to 2005. the prevalence of stunting has fallen in developing countries from 47% in 1980 to 33% in 2000 (i.e. by 40 million), although progress has been uneven according to regions. stunting has increased in eastern africa, but decreased in south-eastern asia, south-central asia and south america; northern africa and the caribbean show modest improvement; and western africa and central america present very little progress. despite an overall decrease of stunting in developing countries, child malnutrition still remains a major public health problem in these countries. in some countries rates of stunting are rising, while in many others they remain disturbingly high. the data we have presented provide a baseline for assessing progress and help identify countries and regions in need of population wide interventions. approaches to lower child malnutrition should be based on successful nutrition programmes and policies.