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Regional Review Finds 11.7 Million African Children Affected by Wasting

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — 22 August 2026

Health leaders from 11 African countries have completed the first regional review of a three-year initiative aimed at preventing and treating child wasting, with new emphasis on integrating nutrition into health, food, water and social-protection systems.

The review meeting was held in Addis Ababa from 18–21 August and brought together representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and seven other African countries. WHO published the findings on 22 August.

According to the 2025 UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates cited by WHO, an estimated 11.7 million children under five in Africa experienced wasting in 2024, including 2.7 million suffering from severe wasting.

The initiative, launched in 2023 with financial support from Ireland, has helped countries strengthen national policies, expand treatment and prevention services and reinforce community and health systems.

WHO reports that 23 countries adopted its 2023 guideline on child wasting. More than three million children were screened, over 80,000 children with severe acute malnutrition received treatment and more than 200,000 children and mothers received cash support linked to nutrition assistance.

The review concluded that nutrition cannot be addressed through health services alone. Food systems, clean water and sanitation, social protection and community-based services all influence children's vulnerability to wasting.

East Africa has a particular stake in the issue. Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan were among the countries represented at the review, while food insecurity, displacement, climate shocks and poverty continue to complicate child nutrition across the region.

The immediate priority is sustaining proven interventions. The longer-term challenge is securing predictable financing and embedding nutrition services within national systems.

The regional message is increasingly clear: preventing child wasting requires resilient systems around the child, not isolated nutrition programmes.

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa

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