Progress

Underweight

Efforts must intensify to meet goals

All regions made progress in reducing the prevalence of underweight children under five in the developing world. Prevalence declined from 31 to 26 per cent between 1990 and 2008 (based on a subset of 86 countries with trend data for the period 1990 and 2008, covering 89 per cent of the developing world's population). Despite this overall improvement, though, the rate of decline is not enough to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing underweight prevalence by half from 1990 to 2015.

All regions have made progress in reducing underweight prevalence
Underweight (moderate and severe) prevalence among children under five, around 1990 and 2008

Note: The trend analysis is based on a subset of 86 countries with trend data, including 81 developing countries, covering 89% of the under-five population in the developing world. For CEE/CIS, the baseline year is 1996; data availability was limited for the period around 1990. All trend estimates based on NCHS reference population.
Source: MICS, DHS and other national surveys, around 1990 and 2008

Rate of progress varies by region

The greatest declines in underweight prevalence are in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe/Commonweath of Independent States (CEE/CIS) and East Asia and the Pacific. In CEE/CIS, prevalence decreased from 10 to 4 per cent between 1996 and 2008 (prior to that, trend data were not available for most countries in the region). In East Asia and the Pacific, prevalence dropped from 23 to 14 per cent between 1990 and 2008. This improvement was driven by gains in China, where underweight prevalence declined by more than half. Nonetheless, other countries in East Asia and the Pacific are making striking progress as well. For these countries, the prevalence dropped from 37 to 25 per cent between 1990 and 2008, a decline by almost one third. The region is on track to meet the MDG target, with or without China.
  

Latin America and the Caribbean also made progress, with levels declining from 11 to 6 per cent between 1990 and 2008. Similar to CEE/CIS and East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean is on track to meet the MDG target.

In South Asia, underweight prevalence declined from 54 to 48 per cent between 1990 and 2008, although current levels remain high. But little improvement was seen in the Middle East and North Africa, where prevalence remained roughly the same (from 16 per cent around 1990 to 14 per cent around 2008). Progress in these regions, as well as in East and Southern Africa and West and Central Africa, is insufficient to meet the MDG target.

63 countries are on track to meet the MDG 1 target
Progress is insufficient in 34 countries and 20 countries have made no progress

Source: MICS, DHS and other national surveys, around 1990 and 2008

Stunting

Since 1990, the progress made in reducing stunting prevalence has been particularly notable in Asia, where prevalence dropped from 44 per cent around 1990 to 30 per cent around 2008. This reduction is influenced by marked declines in China. Dramatic decline is also seen in Latin America and Caribbean and CEE/CIS, where stunting prevalence reduced by more than a third. The decline in Africa has been modest, from 38 per cent around 1990 to 34 per cent around 2008.

Greatest declines of stunting prevalence in East Asia and Pacific
Percentage of children under five who are stunted (moderate and severe)

Note: The trend analysis is based on a subset of 80 countries with trend data, including 75 developing countries, covering 80% of the under-five population in the developing world. For CEE/CIS, the baseline year is around 1996; data availability was limited for the period around 1990. All trend estimates are calculated according to the NCHS reference population.
Source: MICS, DHS and other national surveys, around 1990 and around 2008

References

Part of this section is adapted from Tracking progress on child and maternal nutrition – a survival and development priority, UNICEF, November 2009.