Therefore, there is a critical window of opportunity to prevent under-nutrition – while the mother is pregnant and during child’s first two years of life – when proven nutrition interventions offer children the best chance to survive and reach optimal growth and development; after that window closes, the damage to children is largely irreparable. There is a growing emphasis on the problem of stunting (measured by height for age) and anaemia in the first two years of life as they not only impact child survival and growth, but also result in diminished cognitive development, school performance and physical development. This also has an adverse inter-generational impact in terms of productivity, poverty, and for women, higher risk.
