World Health Assembly Nutrition Targets
WHA Global Nutrition Stunting Target 2012-2025 : Achieve a 40% reduction in the number of children under-5 who are stunted
WHA Global Nutrition Overweight Target 2012-2025: Ensure that there is no increase in childhood overweight
78th World Health Assembly (WHA)
GAIN Working Paper n°52 WHA Nutrition Targets
Stunting and overweight in children under five years of age remain major malnutrition challenges in the 12 countries in Africa and Asia where GAIN operates: Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. These forms of malnutrition appear in two of the six Global Nutrition Targets of the World Health Assembly (WHA), which are meant to be achieved by 2025. This paper evaluates progress towards these two WHA goals in these 12 countries, identifies lessons learned, and offers actionable insights for evidence-based policymaking.
While some countries have successfully reduced stunting and overweight, overall progress, particularly on stunting, remains slow. Using globally accepted methodologies, we find that of the 12 countries studied only Kenya is on track to meet the WHA stunting target by 2025, while the other 11 countries are classified as off track, having made some progress. For child overweight, nine countries, namely Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda are on track, while the remaining three are off track.
Through deep dives into selected cases, this paper emphasises the need for multi-sectoral approaches, strong political commitment, and targeted interventions. A shift towards integrated, data-driven, and context-specific solutions is crucial.
Accelerated, evidence-based action must be taken. This includes highlighting where efforts need to concentrate, guiding policy and programme adjustments, and enabling more targeted interventions to help countries achieve and surpass the reductions in child stunting and the limitations on the rates of child overweight embodied in the WHA 2025 nutrition targets.
