“Zero Hunger” in Africa
Adam MacRae 
August 6, 2024
Adam MacRae
August 6, 2024 If you would like to read more about our research on Zero Hunger, you can find the link here: “Zero Hunger” in Asia.
For those not familiar with the term, stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience due to a combination of poor nutrition, repeated infections, as well as a host of other reasons. Generally, a child would be considered stunted when their height-for-age is more than two standard deviations below the WHO Child Growth Standards median.
To help visualise that, Figure 1 maps out the trajectory of a child’s development from birth through their fifth year. For example, at age five, the average boy would expect to be 110cm (3.6 feet). Whereas a boy that suffers from being stunted, they would be closer to 100cm. While 10cm might seem trivial, in aggregate, these lost 10cm costs the private sector $135 billion annually in lost productivity.
Below are a few high-level numbers to keep in mind for the remainder of the briefing.
Figure 2 visualises the breakdown of the relationship between these numbers. As you can see on the far right, you have 59 million stunted children in Africa that account for 2% of the world’s population facing food insecurity. From there you have the remaining stunted children globally accounting for 6%, and so on.
What is important to remember is that while food insecurity and chronic hunger are scourges that need to be tackled, stunting is particularly devastating and needs to be addressed urgently. Without the proper intervention within their first 1,000 days (and even during the pregnancy), these children face lifelong disadvantages, including physical and cognitive impairments that limit their educational achievements and economic potential.
As is the case with most of the UN’s Global Goals, progress has been too slow. In the case of Zero Hunger, we as a planet have actually taken steps backwards as the world is currently experiencing levels of hunger not seen since 2005, exacerbated by conflicts, climate change, and economic instability.
Food prices have remained stubbornly higher in more countries since 2015, contributing to increased food insecurity. In 2022, approximately 735 million people—9.2% of the world’s population—were in a state of chronic hunger. This represents a staggering increase from 2019, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, and climate-related disasters.
Of the 148 children globally that were stunted in 2022, Africa was home to nearly 40%. Although the prevalence of stunting in Africa has declined from 38.3% in 2000 to 30.7% in 2017, the absolute number of stunted children has increased due to population growth, rising from 54.4 million in 2000 to nearly 62 million by 2024. This trend is concerning as it underscores the ongoing struggle to reduce malnutrition in a rapidly growing population.
Even within a country level focus on the data, Africa leads the rate of stunting as shown in Figure _____ highlighting the average rate of stunting within each country as broken down by continent.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been particularly hard hit in recent years and has been experiencing high-levels of malnutrition across the board. With the twin disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, and disruptions to global supply chains, there were an additional 130,000 cases globally of children under 5, 52% of which occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within the continent, there is also a large discrepancy in stunting outcomes as visualised in Figure 4. Burundi has the highest incidence at 55.8%, whereas in the Seychelles, it is as low as 7.9%.
Another pressing issue is the double burden of malnutrition—where undernutrition coexists with overweight and obesity—poses additional challenges. Overweight rates among children under five in Africa have risen from 6.6 million in 2000 to 9.7 million in 2017, with obesity rates doubling among children aged 5–19 years between 2006 and 2016. This shift towards diets high in energy, fat, and salt but low in nutritional quality exacerbates the malnutrition crisis, creating a complex public health challenge that requires multifaceted interventions.
Aside from the moral imperative, the economic costs of malnutrition are staggering. In total, undernutrition is estimated to cost the global economy over $3 trillion annually. When focusing on stunting, it costs the private sector $135 billion in lost productivity on a per annum basis. To put that in the context of low-income countries, the economic loss of malnutrition could reduce GDP by as much as 16%. Not only are the least developed countries suffering, but their suffering is also pulling them further behind.
Another way to think of it is on a human level. If an adult was stunted as a child, they could expect to face a 22% reduction in potential lifetime earnings. Sadly, these effects do not end with that one person and are transgenerational in nature. Stunted mothers are more likely to also have stunted children which continues the cycle of under-nourishment.
Scaling up proven interventions such as breastfeeding promotion, micronutrient supplementation, and therapeutic feeding can significantly reduce stunting. For example, intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp), infant and young child feeding education, vitamin A supplementation, and lipid-based nutrition supplements for children produced 88% of the total impact on stunting when scaled up consecutively.
Ensuring adequate maternal nutrition during pregnancy is crucial. Interventions like iron and folic acid supplementation for non-pregnant women and multiple micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women have a significant impact. These measures account for 85% of the total reduction in anaemia prevalence, with costs per case averted ranging from $9 to $47.
Addressing food insecurity through agricultural diversification, improving food systems, and supporting sustainable practices is essential. Investments in these areas can generate significant returns, with every $1 invested in nutrition interventions yielding up to $138 in improved health and productivity.
Africa’s path towards achieving Zero Hunger and eliminating the scourge of stunting by 2030 is challenging but not impossible. The continent must overcome significant hurdles, including poverty, climate change, and ongoing conflicts, to meet its targets.
The path ahead will require a combination of the solutions above and the involvement of all stakeholders in society: governments, international organizations, and local communities. Keeping these solutions in mind, Africa can make significant strides toward a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive. Every $1 invested will lead to $138 in improved outcomes.
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