Recent Trends in Malnutrition in Developing Regions: Vitamin A Deficiency, Anemia, Iodine Deficiency, and Child Underweight

Abstract

Combined data on micronutrient deficiencies (and underweight prevalences) were previously assembled for the Micronutrient Report in 2001 published by the Micronutrient Initiative and the International Development Research Centre. To update these data and understand recent trends we carried out a global survey of national micronutrient programs and survey results from 2001 to 2003 mainly through e-mail contact with governmental United Nations and nongovernmental offices in some 100 developing countries (referred to below as the survey). The published literature and unpublished material were searched by various means including through on-line databases and web searching. The results described here were first used for the publication on Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency issued by Micronutrient Initiative and UNICEF in 2004 for which an early draft of the present results was provided. This document now presents the results on prevalences at the national regional and global (all developing countries) levels with further detail. Here the methods are recorded and the estimates are provided in tables figures and annexes. The information from countries responding to the questionnaire in the country survey (49 replied with new data) are available on file and certain of these have been transferred to the Web. (excerpt)