Malnutrition includes both undernutrition (child stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies) and overnutrition (overweight and obesity). Malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of life is especially harmful. Wasting in young children, in which the child is considered too thin for their height, typically results from an acute deficiency of food intake and has a high risk of death. Unlike stunting, however, it can be reversed by increasing food consumption.
The share of children under five experiencing wasting declined from 8.7% of the global population in 2000 to 6.8% in 2022, though progress stalled from 2018 to 2022. While moving in the right direction, the pace of change needs to accelerate greater than 10 times to eliminate wasting by 2030.
While country-specific data is only available for select years across 162 countries, rates of wasting are highest in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Chad and Nepal recorded over 10% of children under five experiencing wasting during at least one year reported between 2019 and 2022.
Efforts to reduce wasting may also help reduce other forms of malnutrition in early childhood. In addition to increasing food security, food access and dietary diversity, reducing wasting also requires access to clean water, adequate sanitation, health care and social services, many of which are further explored in the cities system.