Conclusions
Undernutrition is a major cause of death and disability in young children. When ranked among other causes, growth faltering and micronutrient deficiencies figure prominently, both because they are prevalent and because their consequences are devastating. Not included in the numbers, however, are the losses of lifetime productivity associated with early malnutrition and the resources that must be allocated to confront the developmental and morbidity consequences of child malnutrition, which last a lifetime.
Success has been achieved in preventing and controlling iodine deficiency, and palpable progress has been made in the past 20 years in correcting vitamin A deficiency and promoting breastfeeding; however, for iron, articulated goals have not been translated into programs, and the problem has remained the same or worsened. Zinc deficiency is now recognized as an important new challenge.
As shown here, solid evidence shows that nutrition programs can be effective at addressing nutritional problems in young children. Increasingly available cost data, when combined with outcome evaluations, demonstrate that nutritional interventions rank favorably in terms of cost-effectiveness when compared with competing interventions. The case that further investment in nutrition interventions is warranted is thus compelling.
