Malnutrition in the OIC Member
Countries: A Trap for Poverty
Overall, the areas of structural weaknesses in OIC countries underscored i o a long
way in explaining the higher levels of malnutrition experienced in OIC countries than in the
rest of the world.
2.5. Short and Long Term Political, Social and Economic Consequences of
Malnutrition in the OIC Member Countries
Determining the short and long term social, economic and political consequence of
malnutrition in early life is fraught with methodological challenges, including the challenge of
following up undernourished individuals over long time scales, often 20 to 30 years, as well as
potential confounding factors which may influence outcomes over such long timescales.
This section draws on the international evidence base on the social, economic and political
consequences of undernutrition. This section presents the evidence from a few large scale,
longitudinal studies, which follow individuals for 20-40 years, which much of the literature is
drawn from. Studies from OIC countries from several regions are also documented to illustrate
how the international evidence base is applicable to various OIC countries.
Economic Consequences
Much of what is known about the long term consequences of stunting in early life (up to 24
months) comes from a longitudinal study of 1338 Guatemalan adults in 2002-2004, then aged
25-42 years, who were studied as children in 1969-1977. This study found that higher height-
for-age z scores were associated with more years of completed school, higher test scores in
both reading and cognitive skills, and, for women, increased age at first birth and fewer
pregnancies and children (Hoddinott et al. 2013). Additionally, increases in height for age z-
score reduced the likelihood of a household living in poverty. Another analysis of this same
cohort of individuals found a significant impact on wages for men (48% higher) for those who
had received nutritional supplements before the age of three suggesting that investing in
nutrition, especially for very young children, can support long-term economic growth
(Hoddinott et al. 2008). These studies, by showing the range of negative impacts of early
growth failure across a number of outcomes (e.g. reduced educational attainment and wages)
as well as the positive effects of good nutrition (e.g. smaller families and reductions in the
likelihood of living in poverty), illustrate the long-lasting effects of nutritional status during
early childhood on individuals' life courses.
To situate these findings within an OIC country, in Egypt in 2009, 41% of the working aged
population (15-64) was estimated to have been stunted as children. Stunting is associated with
lower educational attainment. Higher educational attainment has a direct correlation to higher
incomes (for non-manual jobs). In 2009, it is estimated that 6.3% of the Egypt's labour force
was less productive due to reduced educational attainment linked to stunting, which amounts
to a 0.3% loss in Egypt's (yearly) GDP. Those engaging in manual labour are also less likely to
be productive if they are stunted as children and have less lean body mass (Haddad and Bouis
1991). In Egypt, 13.7 million people who were stunted as children are engaged in manual
labour, leading to a potential lost income of 1.03% of the GDP in 2009 (African Union
Commission, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, UN and Economic Commission for
Africa, and UNWorld Food Programme. 2014).
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