Poor nutrition is a frequent culprit in this crisis, hurting women and children at every stage of their
development. Malnutrition contributes to an estimated 45% of child deaths worldwide—in 2019, that was
2.3 million girls and boys under age five. For children who survive, the long-term effects are significant: by
age three, 80% of a child’s brain is formed—during this critical period, good health, nutrition and nurturing
care are all foundational for children’s development, future learning and abilities to achieve their potential.
So it’s sobering that an estimated 149 million young children in lower- and middle-income countries are
still chronically malnourished—known as “stunted”—a condition that restricts both physical growth and
brain development, especially in the first 1,000 days of life. A staggering 45 million young children also
suffer from wasting malnutrition with low weight for their height; this failure to gain weight often results
from insufficient quantity and quality of food or infections that cause weight loss, and those with the
most severe cases of wasting are nine times more likely to die. With the combined economic and health
system impacts of COVID-19, an additional 6.7 million children are now estimated to suffer from wasting
malnutrition, with South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa bearing the bulk of the burden.
Stunting and wasting are not the only threats to girls and boys’ good nutrition. Even before the pandemic,
two out of five children suffered from anemia in lower- and middle-income countries, making them
vulnerable to infections and inhibiting their ability to learn. Iron deficiency anemia affects almost a third
of girls and women of reproductive age, a condition that saps the energy they need to live full and
productive lives and hinders their capacity for learning. A recent review of data collected by the World
Health Organization (WHO) from 29 countries across five regions suggests that during pregnancy, severe
anemia doubles the risk of women dying during and after childbirth.