Nutrition in the WHO African Region

A newly released nutrition report by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa has revealed that undernutrition is still persistent in the region and the number of stunted children has increased. The Africa Nutrition Report, launched in Abidjan, Ivory Coast also indicates that a growing number of children under five years old are overweight. The Report describes the current status in relation to six global nutrition targets that member states have committed to achieve by 2025, and underscores findings from the recently released Global Nutrition Report. The nutrition targets call for a 40 percent reduction in the number of children under-five who are stunted, 50 percent reduction of anaemia in women of reproductive age, 30 percent reduction in low birth weight, no increase in childhood overweight, increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50 percent and reducing wasting to less than 5 percent.