The World Health Organization estimates that malnutrition accounts for 54 percent of child mortality worldwide, about 1 million children. Another estimate also by WHO states that childhood underweight is the cause for about 35% of all deaths of children under the age of five years worldwide. According to a 2008 review, an estimated 178 million children under age 5 are stunted, most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. A 2008 review of malnutrition found that about 55 million children are wasted, including 19 million who have severe wasting or severe acute malnutrition. In 2020, a research paper that mapped stunting, wasting, and underweight among children across 105 low- and middle-income countries found that only five countries were expected to meet global nutrition targets in all second administrative subdivisions. As underweight children are more vulnerable to almost all infectious diseases, the indirect disease burden of malnutrition is estimated to be an order of magnitude higher than the disease burden of the direct effects of malnutrition. The combination of direct and indirect deaths from malnutrition caused by unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices is estimated to lead to 860,000 deaths per year in children under five years of age.
Undernutrition in children
Pain in babies
Low milk supply
Neonatal hypocalcemia
Trauma in children
Infant mental health
Underweight
Chest pain in children