Namibia - Nutrition at a glance

 77186 NUTRITION at a GLANCE Namibia The Costs of Undernutrition • Over one-third of child deaths are due to under- Annually, Namibia loses over US$69 million nutrition, mostly from increased severity of dis- in GDP to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.3,4 ease.2 Scaling up core micronutrient interventions • Children who are undernourished between con- would cost US$1 million per year. ception and age two are at high risk for impaired (See Technical Notes for more information.) cognitive development, which adversely affects the country’s productivity and growth. Key Actions to Address Malnutrition: • Childhood anemia alone is associated with a Increase nutrition capacity within the Ministries 2.5% drop in adult wages.5 of Health and Agriculture. Country Context Where Does Namibia Stand? Improve infant and young child feeding through effective education and counseling services. HDI ranking: 128th out of 182 • 29% of children under the age of five are stunted, 17% are underweight, and 8% are wasted.2 Implement multiple solutions to tackle anemia countries1 including deworming and multiple micronutrient sachets • 16% of infants are born with a low birth weight.2 Life expectancy: 61 years2 for young children, and iron supplementation for • Namibia will not meet MDG 1c (halving 1990 pregnant women. Lifetime risk of maternal death: rates of child underweight by 2015) with business 1 in 1702 as usual.6 Achieve universal salt iodization. Improve dietary diversity through promoting home Under-five mortality rate: Most of the irreversible damage due to production of a diversity of foods and market and 42 per 1,000 live births2 infrastructure development. malnutrition happens during gestation Global ranking of stunting prevalence: 56th highest out of and in the