Regional Nutrition Situation Analysis in the Middle East and North Africa - 2024
Every child has the right to adequate food and nutrition
Highlights
Well-nourished children survive, grow and develop to their full potential, and well-nourished adolescents and adults are healthier, more productive and better equipped to contribute to society. In contrast, poor nutrition across the lifecycle can have devastating and often lifelong consequences on health and development – the effects of which exact a tremendous and expensive toll on individuals, families and health systems.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is home to a culturally and politically diverse group of low-, middle- and high-income countries, at differing stages of demographic transition and experiencing a range of development challenges and humanitarian crises. As a result, the underlying factors influencing what and how children and families eat, and the nutritional status of the population, vary widely across the region. Regular, reliable national-level data are needed to understand where progress to reduce malnutrition has been achieved, where greater policy and programme efforts are required, and what emerging issues are impacting countries in the region.
UNICEF’s Regional Nutrition Situation Analysis, 2024, presents regional and country-level findings on the nutrition situation of children, adolescents, and women in the MENA region. The regional nutrition situation analysis was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. In-depth analyses were also conducted in eight countries: Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen.
Key Findings
- While there has been significant progress in reducing chronic malnutrition, far too many children are still starting life at a nutritional disadvantage in the MENA region.
- In middle childhood and adolescence, undernutrition persists while overweight and poor dietary practices are on the rise.
- An alarming proportion of adult women are living with overweight and obesity, and a third suffer from anaemia.
- Some policies, strategies and programmes to improve nutrition are in place, but stonger government commitment, investment and capacity support are needed.
- More recent and reliable data are needed to understand the nutrition situation.
