COMCEC
Malnutrition in the OIC Member
Countries: A Trap for Poverty
2 . MALNUTRITION IN THE OIC MEMBER COUNTRIES
2.1. Current Level of Malnutrition in the OIC Member Countries
ummarises the state of the key malnutrition indicators (stunting, wasting, overweight
and anaemia] in OIC countries and the rest of the world. Column 1 indicates the mean of
malnutrition for all OIC countries together. Column 2 presents the mean of malnutrition for
developing countries that are not part of OIC and column 3 presents results for the world.
Finally, columns 4-8 breaks down the OIC by sub-region. The figures presented here come
from the “State of Children”report published in 2015 by OIC.
It is clear fro hat OIC countries experience high rates of malnutrition across all
indicators; and that OIC countries tend to under-perform when compared to the rest of the
(developing] world. Stunting rate in OIC is 33%, which is above the high prevalence threshold
defined by the WHO (30%). This rate is 13% higher than in the rest of the world. 11.1% of
children in OIC countries are wasted (corresponding to a “serious” situation as per WHO
guidelines], which is 18% more than in non-OIC developing countries. OIC countries are also
particularly likely to suffer from the double burden of nutrition as both under-nutrition and
over-nutrition are more acute than in the rest of the world. Overweight affects 7.4% of
children in OIC countries, against 4.6% in the rest of developing countries (a gap of 61%].
Finally, “hidden hunger” or micronutrient deficiencies, is also particularly prevalent in OIC
countries, at 53% versus 42% in the rest of the developing world and 43% in the world (a gap
of 26%].
Looking at the regional distribution of malnutrition (columns 4-8], one can see that stunting is
most prevalent in South Asia (at 45%], followed by sub-Saharan Africa (36%] and East Asia
and Pacific (35%]. The same three regions are also most affected by wasting (14% for EAP,
12% for SSA and 12% for SA]. Micronutrient deficiencies are acute across the board, but the
highest concentration (as measured by the prevalence of anaemia] are found in sub-Saharan
Africa (69%] and South Asia (57%]. In contrast, overweight is low in sub-Saharan Africa and
South Asia (around 4.5%] and is mostly observed in East Asia and Pacific (12%], Europe and
Central Asia (12%] and the Middle East and North Africa (13%].
Schematically epicts a situation where acute under-nutrition and hidden hunger are
concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (which predominantly concentrate poor
countries] and over-nutrition is concentrated in the richer areas of East Asia, Europe, Central
Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, MENA, East Asia and Pacific and Europe
and Central Asia are clearly affected by the double burden of malnutrition (the rate of stunting
and anaemia are high in all these regions].
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