Building the Evidence for Improved Infant and Young Child Complementary Feeding Practices Among the Urban Poor in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Malnutrition is the leading cause of death among children under five years, yet its prevalence remains high (WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group, 2006). The joint child malnutrition estimates by UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group showed that the global prevalence of stunting among the under-fives was at 22.9% in 2016 (UNICEF, WHO, & World Bank, 2017). In absolute numbers, this translates to approximately 154.8 million children under five, globally. A child is said to be stunted when their length or height-for-age is below −2 standard deviations (SDs) of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) child growth standard median. The same report estimated the prevalence of stunting among this age group in sub-Saharan Africa to be at 34.2% in the same year. Kenya and Malawi, the two countries of primary focus in this project, noted an overall decline in the prevalence of stunting from 41% to 26% (Kenya) and 54.6% to 42.4% (Malawi) between the years 2000 and 2014. However, this prevalence remains higher than the global estimate of 22.9%.