Child malnutrition - measured as poor child growth - is internationally recognized as an important public health indicator. Young children are most vulnerable to malnutrition and face the greatest risk of its adverse consequences. Malnutrition is caused not only by food deprivation, but also by the debilitating effects of infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, and lack of care. It contributes to over half of child deaths. Progress in reducing child malnutrition has been slow (see Figure 1). Over 150 million children under age five in the developing world are malnourished (underweight), including almost half the children in southern Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of underweight children increased from 29 million to 37 million between 1990 and.
