Undernutrition occurs when people do not eat(or absorb) enough nutrients to cover their needs for energy and growth, or to maintain a healthy immune system.
Undernutrition, includes wasting (low weight-for-height), stunting (low height-for-age) and underweight (low weight-for-age);
This makes children in particular much more vulnerable to disease and death.
Around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition. This is an important underlying cause of illness and death in Africa especially among women and young children.
Low weight-for-height is known as wasting. It usually indicates recent and severe weight loss, because a person has not had enough food to eat and/or they have had an infectious disease, such as diarrhoea, which has caused them to lose weight. A young child who is moderately or severely wasted has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible.
(Fact sheets WHO 2021)
Safe Haven-a Ray of Hope aims for a world free of all forms of malnutrition, where all people achieve health and wellbeing.
