Chapter 2 The State of Nutrition: Progress Towards Global Nutrition Targets in Latin America and the Caribbean
Key messages
- In 2020 the prevalence of stunting in children under 5 in Latin America and the Caribbean was
11.3 percent, approximately 10 percentage points below the world average. Every subregion has
made positive strides in reducing stunting. Between 2000 and 2020, South America reduced
stunting by 41 percent, Mesoamerica by 35 percent, and the Caribbean by 25 percent. Stunting is
particularly prevalent in the region among children whose mothers had no formal education.
People in the lowest wealth quintile are more affected than the other four wealth quintiles in
the region.
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, 7.5 percent of children under 5 were overweight in 2020, or
2 percentage points above the world average (5.7 percent). In South America and the Caribbean,
overweight in children under 5 has risen over the last 20 years, reaching a prevalence of 8.2
percent and 6.6 percent in 2020 respectively. In Mesoamerica the prevalence is 6.3 percent.
- In the region anaemia affects 17.2 percent of the women aged 15 to 49 years, significantly below
the world average. In the Caribbean, however, almost 30 percent of women aged 15 to 49 years are
affected by anaemia.
- Although the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on malnutrition are not yet fully revealed,
negative impacts on various forms of malnutrition are expected. More recently, the conflict in
Ukraine has the potential to impact malnutrition on a global scale, because of the Russian
Federation’s and Ukraine’s importance in the production and trade of wheat, maize and
fertilizers.
