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Facts on Children

Nutrition

• Deaths of children under five in 2004 related to undernutrition: 5.6 million (53 per cent of the under five mortality total)    
• Percentage of children under five underweight in developing countries (1996-2005): 27 per cent (146 million).
• Percentage of children under five in developing countries suffering from stunting (1996-2005): 31 per cent
• Percentage of children under five in developing countries suffering from wasting (1996-2005):  10 per cent.
• Region with worst rates of underweight (1996-2005): South Asia:  45 per cent
• Deaths that would be prevented by reaching the MDG target of halving underweight among children under five: 50 million
• Babies born with low birth weight every year: more than 20 million 
• Percentage of low birth weight births per year in developing countries (1998-2005):  16 per cent
• Percentage of low birth weight births per year in industrialized countries (1998-2005): 7 per cent
• Country with highest number of low birth weight babies: India, 7.8 million per year
• Percentage of infants not weighed at birth in developing countries in 2000: 58 per cent, (rising to 68 per cent in the least developed countries) 
  Exclusive Breastfeeding 0- six months:
• Global rates of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life: 36 per cent
• Deaths that could be prevented by 90 per cent exclusive breastfeeding: 1.3 million per year
• Percentage of babies breastfed with complementary food for six to nine months (1996-2005): 52 per cent 
  Iodine Deficiency Disorder:
• Percentage of people at risk from IDD in developing countries, 1990: 32 per cent (1.7 billion)
• Percentage of newborns in the developing world unprotected from the lifelong consequences of brain damage associated with IDD : 37 million
• Percentage of households in developing countries using iodized salt in (1998 – 2005): 71 per cent
• Percentage of newborns protected against IDD in 2004: 82 million
  Vitamin A Deficiency 6-59 months:
• Percentage of children receiving vitamin A supplementation in developing countries in 2004:  68 per cent
• Percentage reduction in risk of death from two doses of vitamin A:  up to 23 per cent Est. children still at risk of vitamin A deficiency:  100-140 million
• Est. children in Sub-Saharan Africa at risk of vitamin A deficiency:  43 million
• Cost of a Vitamin A capsule: US $ 0.02 cents
  Iron Deficiency and Anaemia:
• People worldwide suffering from iron deficiency anaemia: two billion

Updated: April 2007