https://arab.news/maymu
Millions of children in the Arab world are growing up without the nourishment they need to survive, learn and thrive. As 2030 approaches, the region stands at a decisive crossroads. Achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on ending hunger, ensuring food security and improving nutrition will require urgent, concerted policy action.
Arab countries are contending with the dual challenge of persistent undernutrition among vulnerable groups and rising rates of overweight and obesity. According to a report published by UNICEF in 2024, only one in every three young children receive the diverse, nutritious foods needed for healthy growth and development. As a consequence, nearly one in five children, or about 10 million in total, are stunted, while 3.5 million suffer from life-threatening wasting.
At the same time, unhealthy diets have increasingly led to high rates of overweight and obese children, adolescents and mothers. Contributing factors include the widespread availability of cheap, nutrient-poor foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat, and the growing prevalence of unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. UNICEF reports that the Arab world now has the highest prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity worldwide, with 5 million children under five affected. Among school-age children and adolescents, one in three, about 50 million, are living with overweight or obesity, and in 18 countries rates exceed the global average of 20 percent.
A number of other factors exacerbate the region’s nutrition crisis, including prolonged conflict and displacement, climate change and water scarcity, economic downturns, heavy reliance on expensive food imports, limited affordable local food supplies, and high unemployment.
These flashpoints emphasize the urgency of investing in comprehensive nutrition solutions that deliver social, health and economic returns. According to the World Bank’s “Investment Framework for Nutrition 2024,” scaling up proven nutrition interventions could generate $2.4 trillion in economic benefits globally, with a remarkable $23 yield for every dollar invested in addressing undernutrition. These gains are especially impactful when investments are made in the critical first 1,000 days of a child’s life, creating lifelong benefits.
By contrast, the costs of inaction are staggering, with an estimated $41 trillion of losses over the next decade, including $21 trillion in productivity losses from undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, and another $20 trillion in economic and social costs linked to overweight and obesity.
The cost of failing to address nutrition challenges in the Arab world will be catastrophic. At the most immediate level, untreated wasting leads to higher child mortality, while stunting leaves lasting damage to physical growth and cognitive development. Children who begin life malnourished often struggle academically, reducing their future opportunities and weakening the region’s human capital and, subsequently, its economic competitiveness.
The region needs to urgently invest in comprehensive nutrition solutions that deliver social, health and economic returns.
Sara Al-Mulla
Thus, addressing nutrition challenges in the Arab world requires adopting a life-course approach to nutrition to ensure that individuals receive the right support at every stage of life, from maternal health and the first 1,000 days, through childhood and adolescence, and into adulthood and older age.
As a start, stronger investment in nutrition data is needed to guide the understanding of nutrition-related challenges across various demographics, which will lead to the improved formulation of targeted policies and programs. This is also essential for monitoring key metrics and to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs.
Expanding investments in maternal nutrition during the critical first 1,000 days is essential and should be delivered through multiple touchpoints. For example, experts recommend integrating maternal nutrition counselling and micronutrient supplementation directly into antenatal and primary healthcare services. Alongside these measures, large-scale food fortification initiatives are other avenues to bolster nutritional outcomes. Moreover, public awareness campaigns, such as UNICEF’s “Early Moments Matter” campaign, highlight the importance of the first 1,000 days of life to educate parents and caregivers on how to give their children the best start in life.
Family hubs, hospitals and clinics, early childhood centers and schools could be effective spaces for offering nutrition-related services to communities. It is important to expand initiatives that improve the healthy food options within schools, in addition to rolling-out school-based awareness programs about adopting positive practices. It is pivotal that public awareness campaigns, online or through traditional media outlets, target families to highlight the value of healthy diets and physical activity.
Furthermore, governments should embed nutrition outcomes within social protection programs, which allow individuals to avail cash transfers or vouchers, making healthier foods more accessible and affordable for low-income families. At the same time, governments must strengthen regulation to curb unhealthy food environments by enforcing clear food labeling, taxing sugary drinks and restricting the marketing of nutrient-poor products to children.
Building resilient food systems is central to tackling malnutrition in the Arab region. Investing in climate-resilient agriculture can help reduce dependence on imports and protect populations from volatile global food prices, while targeted subsidies for fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods would make healthy diets more affordable for families.
In this regard, it is important to discuss interventions in conflict-affected Arab states. Nutrition must also be fully integrated into emergency response frameworks, including providing cash or voucher assistance that allows families to access local, nutritious foods. At the same time, it is vital to prioritize lifesaving interventions, such as providing therapeutic feeding and delivering fortified foods.
By investing in nutrition today, the Arab world can break the cycle of malnutrition and unlock the potential of a generation that is healthier and central to the region’s story of progress and prosperity.
- Sara Al-Mulla is an Emirati civil servant with an interest in human development policy and children’s literature. She can be contacted at .