Malnutrition in the OIC Member

Countries: A Trap for Poverty

studies. We then present the quantitative findings on intergenerational transmission of

malnutrition before analysing the policies addressing malnutrition, based on the interviews,

secondary review and quantitative findings.

3.1. Senegal

Senegal is located in West Africa and has a population of 15.3 million. The population is

predominantly young (60% of people are below the age of 25]. Whereas the northern part of

the country is in the Sahel region, the southern part has a tropical climate. Multidimensional

poverty is high (59.6% of the population are in multidimensional poverty and a further 16%

are vulnerable to poverty, which puts Senegal at the 89 th rank out of 112 countries according

to Alkire et al. 2016]. More than 40% of the population is illiterate, and the poverty headcount

reaches 47% (at $1.9 per day threshold]. Senegal ranks 170th out of 188 countries on the

Human Development Index (UNDP 2015].

The economy remains very dependent on agriculture, fishing and exploitation of raw

commodities (phosphate] and is supported by remittances, foreign direct investment and

donor assistance. The country achieved an economic growth rate of 3.5% in 2015 but average

performance over the last 20 years was disappointing: real GDP per capita grew by 0.7% per

year between 2005 and 2014 and by 1.6% between 1995 and 2014 (WDI 2016]. Senegal is,

however, a politically stable country, having managed several political transitions peacefully.

With a prevalence of stunting of 19.4% and a prevalence of wasting of 5.8% in 2014, Senegal

ranks 69th and 82nd in the world, respectively. These are relatively good rankings given that

Senegal was the 40thpoorest country in the world based on GDP per capita at the same time.

However, Senegal has a very dire problem of micronutrient deficiency, as evidenced by the

extremely high rate of children under the age of five who have anaemia: 60%, a rate that puts

Senegal among the 15% most affected countries in the world.

State of Malnutrition in Senegal

Figure 21: Malnutrition in Senegal at a Glance