Nutrition in South Asia

Nutrition is key to children’s survival and development. Well-nourished children are healthier and cleverer than their undernourished peers, they grow and develop to their full potential, and they perform better in school and as adults. In South Asia, an estimated 38 percent of children under the age of five are stunted due to chronic nutrition deprivation. Research shows that there is a critical 1,000-day window of opportunity – from conception to the age of two – to prevent child stunting and break the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition: once this window closes, for most children it closes for life. In South Asia, stunting in children under the age of five is declining, but the estimated prevalence – 38 percent – is still too high, and comparable to that in sub-Saharan Africa. Undernutrition in children can be seen in stunted growth – a stunted child is significantly less tall than would be expected for his or her age. We use data on the prevalence of child stunting, between approximately 1990 and 2010, to assess progress and document trends in reducing child undernutrition in South Asia.