Malnutrition affects all regions, age, socioeconomic groups and sexes. Countries are facing multiple forms of malnutrition, and no country is untouched by at least one form of malnutrition: stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity, micronutrient deficiencies.
Overall, the progress to tackle all forms of malnutrition remains slow, and it is expected that the number of malnourished people increases in low- and middle-income countries, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the multiplication of conflicts and extreme climate events.
Scaling up effective nutrition interventions, and incorporating a gender and life-cycle approach, are essential actions to tackle all forms of malnutrition.
Nutrition-sensitive interventions have enormous potential to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition-specific actions. One such nutrition-sensitive action could be the promotion of agro- and biodiversity in farms aimed at improving diet quality which could also promote the transition to more sustainable food systems.
| Originally Published | Last Updated | 17 Sep 2025 | 16 Oct 2025 |
| Knowledge service | Metadata | Global Food and Nutrition Security | Food crises and food and nutrition security |