Chapter 2 Sustainable Development Goal 2.2: Malnutrition
2.2. Wasting among children under 5 years of age
Wasting – a lethal form of malnutrition – is defined as low weight-for-height. In other words, children with wasting are dangerously thin. It often indicates recent and severe weight loss, although it can also persist for a long time. It usually occurs when a person has not had food of adequate quality and quantity and/or they have had frequent or prolonged illnesses (WHO, 2023a). Wasting in children compromises immunity and is associated with a higher risk of death from otherwise common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and infections if not treated properly. Thus, wasting is considered an indicator of serious child health problems.
FIGURE 12.
Prevalence of wasting among children under 5 years of age in the Arab States by subregion (2022)
Note: The aggregates for Arab States, low-income countries, Arab States LDCs and conflict countries are not calculated due to low country and population coverage. Source: Based on UNICEF, WHO & World Bank. 2023. UNICEF-WHO-World Bank: Joint child malnutrition estimates - Levels and trends (2023 edition). [Cited 24 April 2023]. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jme-report-2023 Download:https://doi.org/10.4060/CC8039EN-fig12
TABLE 8.
Prevalence of wasting among children under 5 years of age (percent)
2022
World
6.8
Arab States
n.a.
Low-income countries
n.a.
Lower-middle-income countries
3.0
Upper-middle-income countries
2.4
High-income countries
4.7
Arab States LDCs
n.a.
Conflict countries
n.a.
Non-conflict countries
3.2
Note: The aggregates for Arab States, low-income countries, Arab States LDCs and conflict countries are not calculated due to low country and population coverage. Source: Based on UNICEF, WHO & World Bank. 2023. UNICEF-WHO-World Bank: Joint child malnutrition estimates - Levels and trends (2023 edition). [Cited 24 April 2023]. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jme-report-2023
The world average for the prevalence of wasting among children under 5 years of age was 6.8 percent in 2022 (Figure 12, Table 8). Wasting was 3.0 percent in lower-middle-income countries, 2.4 percent in upper-middle-income countries, 4.7 percent in high-income countries, and 3.2 percent in non-conflict countries. There is a negative correlation between the level of development and wasting, implying that wasting declines as development increases (World Bank, 2023). Wasted children are more likely to live in low- or lower-middle-income countries and reside in poorer households (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2022). Thus, wasting in low-income countries, and Arab LDCs was probably higher than in high- and middle-income countries, as was the case in 2022.
FIGURE 13.
Prevalence of wasting among children under 5 years of age in the Arab States by country and subregion (latest year available from 2015 to 2022)
Mauritania (13.6 percent) and Djibouti (10.6 percent) have the highest prevalence of wasting, while Jordan (0.6 percent), Palestine (1.3 percent) and Lebanon (1.4 percent) have the lowest prevalence of wasting among Arab States (Figure 13). Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 2.2. incorporated the WHA target to reduce the proportion of children suffering from wasting to below 5 percent by 2025 and below 3 percent by 2030.
