14 | The Millennium Development Goals Report 2014
prevalence in 2012, it has also experienced the largest absolute decrease since 1990 and has contributed significantly to the decreased global burden over the same time period. Sub-Saharan Africa, despite a modest reduction in the prevalence of underweight children since 1990, was the only region where the number of undernourished children increased, from an estimated 27 million to 32 million, between 1990 and 2012. Oceania has demonstrated the least progress of all regions.
Despite steady gains, one in four children around the world remains stunted Proportion of children under age five moderately or severely stunted, and moderately or severely underweight, 1990–2012 (Percentage) 50
40 40
36 33
30
29 25
26 23
25
21 18
20
16
15
10
Stunted
Underweight
12
10
20
20
05 20
00 20
95 19
19
90
0
Stunting—defined as inadequate length or height for age—can reflect better than underweight the cumulative effects of child undernutrition and infection during the critical 1,000-day period covering pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life. Stunting is more common than underweight, with one in four children affected globally in 2012. Although the prevalence of stunting fell from an estimated 40 per cent in 1990 to 25 per cent in 2012, an estimated 162 million children under the age of five remain at risk of diminished cognitive and physical development associated with this chronic form of undernutrition. As with underweight, all regions have experienced a decline in the number of children affected by stunting, except sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of stunted children increased alarmingly by one third, from 44 million to 58 million between 1990 and 2012. Reductions in stunting and other forms of undernutrition can be achieved through proven interventions. These include improving maternal nutrition, especially before, during and immediately after pregnancy; early and exclusive breastfeeding; and timely, safe, appropriate and high-quality complementary food for infants, accompanied by appropriate micronutrient interventions.