Where is Malnutrition Most Prevalent?

December 16, 2025 •

3 min read

According to UNICEF, 6.6% of children under 5 suffered from wasting in 2024, highlighting the persistent global challenge of malnutrition. The crisis is not evenly distributed, with certain regions and countries bearing a disproportionately heavy burden of this public health emergency.

Quick Summary

Malnutrition is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, driven by conflict, climate change, and economic instability. Crisis-hit countries like Somalia, Haiti, and parts of the Middle East have alarming rates of severe food insecurity. Child malnutrition, particularly stunting and wasting, is a significant issue in these regions, exacerbated by poverty, poor sanitation, and limited access to healthcare.

Key Points

Prevalence Hotspots: Malnutrition is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which together host roughly two-thirds of the world's stunted children.
Driving Factors: Key drivers include protracted conflicts, severe climate shocks like droughts and floods, widespread poverty, and poor sanitation.
Impact on Children: Childhood malnutrition, including stunting and wasting, leads to long-term physical and cognitive damage, perpetuating cycles of poverty.
Emergency Hotspots: Areas affected by recent and ongoing crises, such as the Gaza Strip, Haiti, and Yemen, are experiencing alarming rates of acute malnutrition.
Vicious Cycle: A strong link exists between poverty and malnutrition, where poor health limits economic productivity, further entrenching families in poverty.
Multi-faceted Solutions: Combating malnutrition requires comprehensive strategies that include not only emergency relief but also long-term investments in sustainable agriculture, infrastructure, and healthcare.

The Global Geography of Malnutrition

Malnutrition remains a significant global health issue, with its burden heavily concentrated in specific regions, primarily Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These areas face complex challenges such as poverty, political instability, and environmental crises, contributing to widespread food insecurity. In 2024, approximately two-thirds of the world's 150.2 million stunted children resided in these two regions.

Sub-Saharan Africa: A Region Under Pressure

Sub-Saharan Africa is a major hotspot for the global malnutrition crisis, with many countries experiencing high rates of undernourishment and food insecurity. Factors contributing to this include protracted conflicts, which disrupt food production and limit humanitarian access. Climate change events like droughts and floods also degrade agricultural land and destabilize livelihoods. Countries with particularly high malnutrition rates in the region include Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Madagascar, Chad, and Niger.

South Asia: The Burden of Stunting and Micronutrient Deficiencies

South Asia also shows a high prevalence of malnutrition, especially chronic undernutrition leading to stunting in children. While some countries have seen improvements, the issue persists due to widespread poverty, poor sanitation, and inadequate maternal nutrition. South Asia has the largest number of stunted children globally and the highest prevalence of wasting in children under five. Countries like Pakistan face high rates of child malnutrition, compounded by poverty and climate-related disasters.

Other Global Hotspots and Drivers

Beyond these main regions, acute nutrition crises are occurring in specific locations affected by conflict and economic shocks, such as the Gaza Strip, Haiti, and Yemen. These crises stem from resource scarcity, political instability, and disrupted infrastructure and supply chains. Haiti, for instance, has seen catastrophic hunger due to instability and violence, while Yemen faces exceptionally high malnutrition rates from civil war.

Factors Driving High Malnutrition Rates

Malnutrition is driven by a combination of factors that vary in intensity by region.

Comparison of Key Malnutrition Drivers by Region


Driver	Sub-Saharan Africa	South Asia	Other Hotspots (e.g., Gaza, Haiti)
Conflict/Political Instability	High: Protracted civil wars, ethnic conflicts.	Moderate to High: Past and ongoing conflicts affecting specific areas.	Extreme: Active conflict, sieges, gang violence drastically disrupt food supply.
Poverty	High: Endemic poverty, limited economic opportunities, low incomes.	High: Widespread poverty, especially in rural areas.	High: Severe economic collapse, limited access to markets.
Climate Change	High: Frequent droughts, floods, extreme weather events impacting rain-fed agriculture.	High: Increased intensity of climate hazards like floods and droughts.	Varies: Localized climate shocks exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities.
Sanitation & Health	Poor: Inadequate access to clean water, poor sanitation, high disease burden.	Poor: Lacking infrastructure, leading to frequent illnesses that worsen malnutrition.	Severely Compromised: Destruction of infrastructure, limited access to healthcare.

The Impact of Climate Change

Climate change significantly worsens malnutrition, particularly in vulnerable areas. Changing weather patterns and more frequent extreme events like droughts and floods directly reduce food production and availability. This instability increases food prices and decreases rural incomes, pushing more people into poverty and limiting access to nutritious food. Experts warn that without intervention, the risk of hunger could rise considerably by 2050.

The Vicious Cycle of Poverty and Malnutrition

A strong link exists between poverty and malnutrition. Individuals in poverty often cannot afford enough nutritious food, leading to undernutrition. This negatively impacts health, reduces productivity, and hinders economic growth, trapping communities in a cycle of poverty and poor health. This cycle is particularly harmful for children, as early malnutrition can cause irreversible developmental issues.

Moving Forward: Addressing the Crisis

Effectively addressing malnutrition in high-prevalence areas requires a comprehensive strategy beyond emergency aid. This includes investing in sustainable agriculture, improving access to healthcare and clean water, and building resilience to climate shocks. For further information on global hunger and humanitarian efforts, the World Food Programme USA website is a valuable resource. Tackling this global challenge demands both immediate relief and long-term, systemic solutions.

Conclusion

Malnutrition remains a critical global health problem, primarily impacting vulnerable populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, as well as specific crisis-affected hotspots. This crisis is driven by factors including poverty, climate change, and political instability, with severe and lasting consequences, especially for children. Although progress has been made in some regions, the situation highlights the urgent need for ongoing international action and investment in resilient food systems and addressing the root causes of global food insecurity.

Frequently Asked Questions

The primary cause of malnutrition in high-prevalence areas is a combination of underlying factors including poverty, lack of food security, political instability, conflict, and the increasing effects of climate change. These issues disrupt food production and access, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

According to the World Bank and UNICEF data for 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions most heavily affected by malnutrition, particularly child stunting.

Stunting is defined as low height-for-age, resulting from chronic or recurrent undernutrition and preventing children from reaching their full physical and cognitive potential. Wasting is low weight-for-height, indicating recent and severe weight loss, often due to inadequate food intake or infectious diseases.

Yes, climate change significantly impacts malnutrition rates by increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods. This leads to reduced agricultural yields, higher food prices, and less stable food supplies, which disproportionately affects food-insecure regions.

Yes, malnutrition includes both undernutrition and overnutrition. In many regions, countries are experiencing a "double burden of malnutrition," where undernutrition coexists with a rising prevalence of overweight and obesity, often due to diets high in calories but low in nutrients.

Conflicts and political instability disrupt food production, destroy infrastructure, and displace populations, leading to severe food shortages and limited access to health services. This creates ideal conditions for high rates of severe acute malnutrition.

While the highest rates of undernutrition are in developing countries, every country in the world is affected by one or more forms of malnutrition. Many nations face the double burden of undernutrition and the rising rates of overweight and obesity.