Malnutrition in Afghanistan : Scale, Scope, Causes, and Potential Response
This book has the potential to contribute to a reversing of this trend, whereby activities in not only the health sector but also in other sectors relevant to nutrition will gain increased support and prominence in national development planning. South Asia has by far the largest number of malnourished women and children, and no other region of the world has higher rates of malnutrition. Malnutrition in childhood is the biggest contributor to child mortality; a third of child deaths have malnutrition as an underlying cause. For the surviving children, malnutrition has lifelong implications because it severely reduces a child's ability to learn and to grow to his or her full potential. Malnutrition thus leads to less productive adults and weaker national economic performance. Therefore, the impact of malnutrition on a society's productivity and well being and a nation's long-term development is hard to underestimate. For the South Asia region of the World Bank, malnutrition is a key development priority, and in the coming years, the Bank intends to enhance dramatically its response to this challenge. As a first step, a series of country assessments such as this one are being carried out. These assessments will be used to reinforce the dialogue with governments and other development partners to scale up an evidence-based response against malnutrition. To succeed, we will need to address the problem comprehensively, which will require engaging several sectors. This assessment of malnutrition in Afghanistan lays out the scale, scope, and causes of the problem. The assessment also indicates key elements of a potential response.
Summary: | This book has the potential to
contribute to a reversing of this trend, whereby activities
in not only the health sector but also in other sectors
relevant to nutrition will gain increased support and
prominence in national development planning. South Asia has
by far the largest number of malnourished women and
children, and no other region of the world has higher rates
of malnutrition. Malnutrition in childhood is the biggest
contributor to child mortality; a third of child deaths have
malnutrition as an underlying cause. For the surviving
children, malnutrition has lifelong implications because it
severely reduces a child's ability to learn and to grow
to his or her full potential. Malnutrition thus leads to
less productive adults and weaker national economic
performance. Therefore, the impact of malnutrition on a
society's productivity and well being and a
nation's long-term development is hard to
underestimate. For the South Asia region of the World Bank,
malnutrition is a key development priority, and in the
coming years, the Bank intends to enhance dramatically its
response to this challenge. As a first step, a series of
country assessments such as this one are being carried out.
These assessments will be used to reinforce the dialogue
with governments and other development partners to scale up
an evidence-based response against malnutrition. To succeed,
we will need to address the problem comprehensively, which
will require engaging several sectors. This assessment of
malnutrition in Afghanistan lays out the scale, scope, and
causes of the problem. The assessment also indicates key
elements of a potential response. |
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