Childhood undernutrition in North Africa

Undernutrition remains a critical public health issue, with 149.2 million children under five globally affected by stunting, 45 million experiencing wasting, and 13.6 million with severe wasting. Undernutrition severely affects children, families and communities. It can lead to serious illness and death and is often a contributing factor to many fatalities. In North African nations, stunting affects 22.3% of children in Egypt, exceeding 35% in both Libya and Sudan, and 6.6% of children across the North African region have wasting. These figures may be attributed to recent uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, prolonged civil wars in Libya and Sudan, pandemics and climate-related natural disasters in Libya and Morocco, all of which can disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, particularly women and children. This region also suffers from inadequate or outdated information, hindering the comprehension of these crises’ effects on child health. Therefore, the current research was developed to examine the prevalence of undernutrition among children under five in North Africa and its adopted countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara) and to determine the variables contributing to the persistence and escalation of the problem. The research involved three discrete Chapters (chapter 2,3, and 4) In Chapter 2, two systematic reviews and meta-analyses were carried out in chapter 2 to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the existing data regarding the prevalence and determinants of undernutrition in the region and its countries. These reviews also identify knowledge gaps in this research area. High prevalence and notable variations in undernutrition were observed in Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Morocco, with the highest prevalence of stunting and wasting recorded in these countries. The highest prevalence of underweight were observed in Sudan, Egypt, Morocco and Libya. Multiple variables have contributed to undernutrition in North African children, including residence in rural areas, a lower wealth index, maternal nutritional status, uneducated fathers and low birth weight. The examination of these two systematic literature reviews revealed that no research has been undertaken to examine the prevalence or factors associated with undernutrition specifically in the North African region.