UNICEF’s latest report shines light on malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa

In Eastern and Southern Africa, a new UNICEF report estimates 8% of children aged 5–19 years are underweight and 11% are experiencing overweight and obesity. The agency warns that the overlapping regional “learning poverty” and nutrition crisis are mutually reinforcing. 

This is because children who are poorly nourished and sick are less likely to attend school, and those who do attend are less likely to learn well and benefit from their educational experience.

The report highlights micronutrient deficiencies are quite common, especially among adolescent girls due to poor quality diets and girls’ higher requirements for micronutrients such as iron and calcium.

Investing in school-based health and nutrition interventions offers significant returns.

“School health and nutrition programs are cost-effective,” stress the authors. “Evidence shows that in low- and middle-income countries an average of US$9 is returned from each US$1 invested in school meals alone, through benefits for health and nutrition, education and social protection.”

“The combined benefits of providing school meals plus education, nutrition, and health services are expected to yield even higher returns due to their reinforcing effects.”

Report on progress

In 2024, UNICEF and WFP came together to assess the extent of their collaboration on school health and nutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The result was the documentation of three country case studies that demonstrate the collaboration in action for school-age children and adolescents in Zimbabwe, South Sudan, and Malawi.

The synthesis report provides the background to these efforts and summarizes the progress of the collaboration and findings from the case studies, while providing “lessons learned” and recommendations for accelerating progress.

Across the three countries, the organizations rolled out a package of services including nutrition services (nutrition screening, micronutrient supplementation, and deworming), school meals using the home-grown school feeding approach, nutrition education, and actions to support healthy school environments and enhanced physical activity.

“In fragile environments, significant external investment from multiple partners is needed to build systems to support sustained change, as well as careful monitoring of multiple indicators to demonstrate impact,” stress the organizations.

“Efforts to address underlying vulnerabilities to shocks can be built into school health and nutrition programs, for example, by building climate resilient school gardens, using recycled water, and promoting the use of fuel-efficient cook stoves.”

School lunches may be the most common food provision in most schools globally. Speaking to Nutrition Insight, US non-profit GenYouth points out that there are viable alternatives.

The organization works with partners to raise funds and resources to increase equitable access to services like grab-and-go carts installed throughout campuses, smoothie programs, and breakfast in the classroom, which have “proven to be solutions that have a big impact.”