







































 
 

 

10 
© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 
 

Economy 
Vol. 8, No. 1, 10-15, 2021 

ISSN(E) 2313-8181/ ISSN(P) 2518-0118 
DOI: 10.20448/journal.502.2021.81.10.15 

© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

    
 

 
 
 
Nutrition for Pre-school Children in Africa and Asia: A Review Analysis on the 
Economic Impact of Children’s Malnutrition 

 
Chukwuemeka Valentine OKOLO1    

Bartholomew Onyekachi OKOLO2    

Nneka Nancy ANIKA3   

 
 

( Corresponding Author) 
1School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. 
Email: okolojunior@outlook.com Tel:+86-15619087303 
2Department of Biochemistry, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria 
Email: bartholomewokolo@gmail.com Tel:+234(0)7039486133 
3Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria. 
Email: nnekanancy5588@gmail.com Tel:+234(0)8078693576 

 
Abstract 

Nutrition is known to be the key driver in well-being and fitness generally, and as a driving force 
behind the growth of capital and child food, it is a source and a product of greater health 
problems, family income and living conditions. The first 1,000 days of maternal and child care 
concentrate on healthy physical exercise and cognitive improvement, with long-term health and 
economic consequences for people and economies. The research reviewed Nutrition for Preschool 
Children in Africa and Asia and illustrated the economic effect of malnutrition in infants. The 
review indicated that nutrition for pre-school children in Africa and Asia remains insufficient to 
ensure enhanced economic and human growth and that each nation needs to consider how money 
is to be invested through the assistance resources that help the least per cent of the population to 
fix this gap for children and make it the most efficient investment in society. Citizenship and 
collective efforts, particularly the voice of youth, are important forces of transformation, which 
must be encouraged to meet SDGs. Democracy campaigns can play a crucial role in the struggle 
for justice for children and the family. 

 
Keywords: Nutrition, Preschool children, Africa, Asian, Malnutrition, Economic growth. 

JEL Classification: I12; J13; D12; F63 
 

Citation | Chukwuemeka Valentine OKOLO; Bartholomew 
Onyekachi OKOLO; Nneka Nancy ANIKA (2021). Nutrition for 
Pre-school Children in Africa and Asia: A Review Analysis on the 
Economic Impact of Children’s Malnutrition. Economy, 8(1): 10-15. 
History:  
Received: 22 June 2021 
Revised: 26 July 2021 
Accepted: 20 August 2021 
Published: 10 September 2021  
Licensed: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 

Attribution 3.0 License  
Publisher:  Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 
 

Acknowledgement: All authors contributed to the conception and design of 
the study. 
Funding: This study received no specific financial support. 
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of 
interests. 
Transparency: The authors confirm that the manuscript is an honest, 
accurate, and transparent account of the study was reported; that no vital 
features of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the 
study as planned have been explained. 
Ethical: This study follows all ethical practices during writing.   

 

 

Contents 
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 

2. Review of Literature ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 
3. Nutrition for Preschool Children .................................................................................................................................... 12 
4. Nutrition for Pre-school Children in Africa and Asian .................................................................................................. 13 
5. Economic Impact of Children’s Malnutrition ................................................................................................................. 13 
6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 14 
References ............................................................................................................................................................................ 15 
 

 
 

 

 

mailto:okolojunior@outlook.com
mailto:bartholomewokolo@gmail.com
mailto:nnekanancy5588@gmail.com
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
https://www.doi.org/10.20448/journal.502.2021.81.10.15
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3802-6305
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2276-1428
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0809-8316


Economy, 2021, 8(1): 10-15 

11 
© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

 

 

Contribution of this paper to the literature 
This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating nutrition for pre-school children in 
Africa and Asia and the economic impact of children’s malnutrition. 

 
1. Introduction 

Nutrition assistance and medical services are one means of tackling food challenges policies. Health is widely 
known to be one of the key factors of global study in pleasure and life satisfaction (Helliwell, Wang, & Xu, 2013). 
Interventions that enhance childhood well-being have acute, long-term and intergenerational effects, 
complementing each other in synergy. To ensure the growth and progress of children, we need timely, accurate 
population data on health, protection, access to education, quality housing and environmental conservation, among 
other rights (Clark et al., 2020). The State of the World Child Report 2019 has the following aims: encouraging 
families, children and youth to seek healthier food, encouraging children to do right with their environment, 
creating a safe climate for all children and mobilizing assistance systems-hygiene, water and sanitation, nutrition 
and social welfare. Investing in nutrition for children and teenagers is an important challenge if the world meets its 
sustainable development commitments by 2030 (UNICEF, 2019). 

Pre-school years are a crucial part of the growth and development of the child, and it is important to ensure 
that the eating routine of the infant during this period is well-formed and developed. The impact of evolving food 
habits will significantly influence the well-being of children and the entire economy during this period. 
Malnutrition, the main public health issue for countries, impacts many children and is a primary concern in these 
areas (Bharti & Sakshi, 2016). Therefore, the problem of children in developing countries is important. 
Furthermore, enhancing the welfare of women, infants and small children increases the prospects for an infant to 
provide full opportunities (UNAIDS, 2010). 

Nutrition during pre-school years is important for child growth and development and the availability of high 
levels of energy for service that, in turn, can be used by healthy trained and unskilled employees to contribute to 
economic growth. A young child’s diet program will consist primarily of healthy foods and daily family meals, 
providing opportunities for good nutrition. However, children are comforted by daily meals, and eating with 
preschoolers can be noisy and messy. Preschoolers (age 3 to 5) tend to build their eating habits and require 
motivation to consume nutritious meals and snacks. These kids love to read. Often, they emulate the actions of 
adult eating. They need dietary support while they also focus on chewing and swallowing skills. For government 
and development institutions, the promotion of infant safety has long been a priority for public health. However, 
above and beyond mortality factors, the importance of health and diet to sustain child development and educational 
success is increasingly recognized (Bundy & Guyatt, 1996; van den Heuvel et al., 2013). 

This paper examines the influence of infant schooling in pre-school children and the economic consequences of 
infant starvation/malnutrition in Africa and Asia. It is becoming apparent that health and diet challenges should be 
discussed for two reasons in pre-school children (less than five years of age). Firstly, the world’s poorer and 
wealthier quintiles are over 50% death ranges, and, secondly, the overall prevalence of illness for these children 
reaches 30 per cent in the developing nations (Jukes, 2007; UNESCO & Jukes, 2006). Moreover, the number of 
preschoolers worldwide is estimated at 600 million and even much higher (US Census Bureau, 2002). Therefore, 
their risk of mortality is much higher, and they are preserved better in adolescence and adulthood, which is why 
they have a far greater risk of survival. Thus, at this stage, opportunities like health, welfare, education and child 
development mainly determine for themselves the child’s health and well-being in its lifetime (Six, 2007). 

Different aspects of child welfare are greatly influenced by food practices and proper diet, contributing to the 
children’s potential health (Ahmad, Daw, & Isa, 1996). In sub-Saharan Africa, infant mortality averages 173 deaths 
per 1,000 live births and 98 deaths per 1,000 in South Asia – several times the rate of 7 deaths per 1,000 in a 
developed world. Children’s leading killers are incredibly treating and preventable infections such as flu, diarrhea, 
HIV, measles and malnutrition. Surveys have shown that malnutrition can cause stunting and wasting in pre-
school children (Black et al., 2008). Stunting is a result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition in utero and early 
infancy. Child stunting will never reach full height or cognitive abilities. Not only do stunted children reap less 
from their interests in classrooms and schooling as adults, they often are more likely than middle-aged children to 
become overweight and obese. Wasting is a life-threatening condition attributed to inappropriate feeding and 
nutrient loss. Characterized by rapid nutritional depletion within the short term, children who suffer from waste 
compromised their immunity, increasing their mortality risk, particularly if they are serious, due to the higher 
prevalence of chronic infections. 
 

2. Review of Literature 
Based on their socio-economic situation, population size and the urbanization in China, India, Nepal and 

Pakistan (Gao et al., 2020) have investigated the nutritional status of pre-school children and children’s caregivers 
based on nationally significant data from the China Annual Diet and health inspection report, the Indian National 
Health Survey and Nepal demography. The nutritional situation of children and women on four continents has 
been vastly different. They found the prevalence of underneath nutrition and the higher prevalence of 
overweight/obesity in countries with higher economic status in children, especially in China, where the prevalence 
of overweight/obesity was substantially higher than underweight. Health trends have been mixed in childbearing 
women, and among the four countries in this group, Pakistan has a high rate of overweight/obesity, although it has 
the second-lowest income level. 

Using a cross-sectional survey conducted in a semi-urban population of 220 pre-school children, Mary, 
Jerffson, and Abiodun (2019) evaluated the nutritional status of pre-school children and their eating habits in 
southwestern Nigeria and analyzed the data produced using the software Social Sciences Statistical Package (SPSS) 
and found that the overall prevalence of malnutrition was high. A significant proportion (78.2%) of children ate 
more than three times a day, while 96.4% of children routinely defined everyday meals and advised that parents 
encourage their children’s healthier eating habits. Chakravarty, Tatwadi, and Ravi (2019) examined the intrinsic 
relation between stunting and its intergenerational impact on human capital from 1986 to 2017 in South Asian and 



Economy, 2021, 8(1): 10-15 

12 
© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

 

 

Sub-Saharan countries. The study found that the formation of human capital starts in the early stages of childhood. 
In the long term, a healthy childhood has a positive relation to the production of human capital. Improved diet, 
which affects underweight, obesity and stunting, is largely attributed to a balanced childhood. 

Hurley, Yousafzai, and Lopez-Boo (2016) reviewed the benefits and challenges of implementing integrated 
interventions on early childhood development and benefit-based nutrition-cost analysis. He found that poor 
nutrition and lack of early learning opportunities contribute to the loss of development potential and lifelong 
health and economic disparities among millions of children < 5 years of age. Due to their positive impact, they 
advocated for the development and testing of integrated interventions. Similarly, the 2007 Lancet series on child 
development in developing countries reported that multi-component programs, including health, nutrition, and 
psychosocial stimulation, are likely to be the most successful in promoting and growth and development in early 
childhood, therefore, advocated for the development and testing of integrated nutrition and early child 
development interventions (Black et al., 2008). Black et al. (2013) analyzed the undernutrition and overweight of 
mother and child in low and middle-income countries. They observed that undernutrition leads to a fetal growth 
cap, which raises the likelihood of neonatal deaths and stunts by two survivors. They added that overweight 
children easily lead to obesity, diabetes and non-communicable diseases in adults. 

Concerning initiatives for children under six, Six (2007) has shown that the pre-school age group has received 
a low priority in developing country’s policies, services and budgets, despite all measures showing that more 
support is urgently needed at that time. However, the effect of the weaning period on the nutritional status of 
children has been observed by Shamim, Naz, Jamalvi, and Ali (2006). It has shown that various strategies are 
currently in place to continually implement policies aimed at investing in early childhood. Still, these policies are 
not being fully implemented at the moment. 
 

3. Nutrition for Preschool Children 
In a 2017 survey, the costs of not growing child development in the form of mandatory pre-school and home 

visits are substantial and may minimize stunting to more than 10 per cent of GDP (Richter et al., 2017). The 
Lancet Commission, promising to place children’s health and well-being at the forefront of the sustainable 
development goals (SDGs), was founded at the end of the Millennium Development Goal and stressed child 
survival. From 2015 to 2020 alone, about 44 per cent of children aged 0–6 months in the world breastfed (UNICEF 
& WHO, 2021). While the lack of nutrition and malnutrition impacts all ages, the long-term effects of the 
development and well-being of small children are very important because much undernutrition takes place in the 
womb or the first two years of existence. The brunt of early damage lasts for both body and brain development. 

Changes in diet and lifestyle made early by children and parents will affect their children for the rest of the 
lifespan. As most people achieve their optimum bone mass at 20, early childhood needs to build muscle and bone 
mass. Children with overweight problems appear to feel exhausted and irritable, which may cause depression. 
Overweight infants have health issues and are often unable to compete with their friends in physical exercise. This 
will lead to the alienation of relationships that can form poor social ties and low self-respect. In general, it is 
important to develop children with a healthy and nutritious diet. A child wants to be driven by opportunities to 
grow a well-equilibrated and balanced nutritious life. A child may have trouble ensuring they are well fed and 
protected without support, motivation, guidance and schedule. When young children grow up, they tend to learn 
about what they like and don’t want. On many occasions, this does not meet the dietary needs of the best of them. 
The challenge is this, as children are extremely attentive individuals, it is helpful to create safe and productive 
relationships. Children may also be an important learning aid in food preparedness and choosing. 

Health status is an indicator of human well-being since consuming calories and applying nutrients are the main 
determinants. Wellness is not only a lack of illness; it is an essential condition of mental and physical well-being, as 
indicated by the International Health Organisation (WHO). In 1992, the Rome Conference on Nutrition, which 
claimed in its World Nutrition Declaration and Plan of Action that nutritional health of all people is an essential 
prerequisite to population growth and a central goal for human advancement, was the relationship between the 
production of human nutrition resources. A healthy, well-nourished child is a necessity for healthy development. 
The nutritional well-being of the populace is at the same time a reflection of the achievements of both the social 
and economic spheres and, to a large extent, of the efficiency of the national income distribution. Much of the 
people should be prepared to partake in this effort to ensure a permanent and effective national program for social 
and economic growth. The rest of the population should also be in good health and have good nourishment. 
Nutrition plays a crucial role in human capital development. The lack of essential nutrients leads to malnutrition, 
affecting people’s mental and physical well-being and poor health and poor work results. 

Furthermore, a young undernourished baby may suffer moderate to severe impairment leading to poor 
schooling; a frail, malnourished person may not respond well to treatment, may be permitted to spend several 
hours working and can continue to drain away national to family capital. Investment in education, health care and 
other growth sectors is undermined by malnutrition, but healthy nutrition is an investment in human and social 
resources; the high development of human capital that ultimately forms the basis of change is the primary 
determinant of household and public well-being. Therefore, acts that are central to the operation of the food 
markets boost food supply and demand, improve the quality of children, and enhance the main support systems’ 
role.  

Again, healthy food is important for the health of children and for achieving the Sustainable Development 
Goals. It must be at the heart of the government’s plan and backed by key actors, including civil society and the 
private sector. In all continents except Africa, the number of children who have suffered from disorder has declined, 
while in all continents, the number of overweight children, including Africa, has increased (UNICEF, 2019). Young 
adults’ cultural and social needs, young parents, and families will be focused on creative, engaging, positive and 
stimulatory interaction approaches that facilitate nutritious foods. The return on nutrition investment is high. For 
example, in high-burden countries, every dollar that is invested in mitigating stunning yields economic returns 
equivalent to about US$ 18. Investment in children’s nutrition is critical for the production of capital because 
children’s nutrition in Africa and Asia is necessary for growth, cognitive development, academic achievement and 
potential competitiveness (UNICEF, 2019). Global figures reveal that the hunger rate appears to be alarming. The 



Economy, 2021, 8(1): 10-15 

13 
© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

 

 

number of kids under 5 (overweight) shocked, and waste (million) is declining too slowly. In contrast, 
unsustainable levels damage the lives of too many young children worldwide, 2000-2019 (UNICEF & WHO, 
2021). 

The key objective is to free all kids from some form of malnutrition. Analyzes of child hunger trends in the 
World Bank Organization show that in 2019 stunting affected an estimated 21.3% or 144,0 million children under 
the age of 5 worldwide, and in 2019 it appears that wasting endangers estimated lives of 6.9% or 47.0 million 
children under five worldwide. In 2019, the world’s highest number of children under 5.6% or 38.3 million, was 
unparalleled. Kid rush never reaches the maximum height, and the brain never grows to peak growth potential. 
They face behavioural challenges in school, obtain limited support as adults, and are hindered by social inclusion, 
which is a big downside. Children with waste are less resistant and susceptible to long-term delays and have an 
increased risk of mortality, especially in cases of extreme waste. While malnutrition takes various forms, it 
ultimately has the same preventive route: proper nutrition of the mother before and during pregnancy or lactation; 
successful breastfeeding in the first two years; balanced, varied and nutritious early childhood food; a safe climate, 
including basic health, water, hygiene, sanitation and opportunities. These main components are supported by a 
community in which children are free of all forms of hunger. Global and international statistics on infant hunger by 
UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank show that we are still far from the world of hunger. The joint forecasts 
published in March 2020 include indices of dramatic and obesity in children under 5 years of age, extreme obesity 
and overweight, which indicate a lack of progress in achieving 2025 goals for the 2030 World Health Assembly. 

Main dietary strategies that have been proven to be successful in reducing underweight, stunting, and low 
birth weight are: pre-natal; better maternal diet and well-being to eliminate low birth weight and stunt later in life 
before and after infancy increase maternal longevity. Post-natal; safety, encouragement and advancement of 
optimal breastfeeding; avoidance and effective clinical care of infections (including diarrhea, HIV, measles, 
tuberculosis); management of extreme and mild acute malnutrition; avoidance and control of selected micronutrient 
deficiencies: vitamin A, iodine, iron-folic acid, zinc; psychosocial stimulation; healthy lifestyle; 
 

4. Nutrition for Pre-school Children in Africa and Asian 
In 2012, the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly (WHA) approved the Maternal, Infant, and Young Child 

Nutrition (MIYCN) systematic implementation strategy (WHO, 2017). As a result, there has been some progress 
in achieving global nutrition targets in the African region. For example, the global targets for under-five 
overweight and exclusive breastfeeding for infants each have 20 countries to meet them, while under-five waste has 
12 countries on course, while under-five stunting has eight countries on the course (WHO, UNICEF, & UNFPA, 
2015). 

Despite being reasonably well off against other countries, Africa continues to face the burden of malnutrition 
among its under-five population. The estimated overweight incidence of the five-under-age population is 4.9%, the 
second-lowest in all countries. The breathtakingly low amount in Europe is 30%, double the world average of 
21.9%. On the other hand, pollution in the African region is 7.1% lower than the global average of 7.3%. In Africa, 
43.4% of children under six months old breastfeed, while the country’s overall low weight incidence is 13.7% lower 
than the total global average of 14.6% (Organization, 2015). African governments should take measures to mitigate 
and eliminate under-nutrition, among other things, by ensuring optimum conditions for safe infancy and children, 
improving water and sanitation supplies, and delivering adequate food in classrooms. 

Progress has been made in the Asian field to the attainment of global nutrition targets. For example, global 
expectations for under-five overweight and under-five stunting each of the 12 countries on track to meet them, 
under-five obesity has 11 countries on track, infant-only breastfeeding has seven countries on track, female diabetes 
has six countries on track, while low birth weight and male diabetes each have one country on their way. However, 
in women of reproductive age, male obesity and female obesity, not one country in the world is on target to meet 
the targets of anaemia. 38 Countries worldwide do not have adequate evidence to measure their success toward 
these global targets reliably. 

Asia faces a challenge of hunger in its population of under-five. The reported prevalence of overweight is less 
than 5.2 per cent lower than the worldwide average of 5.9 per cent. The prevalence of stunting in the under-five is 
22.7%, higher than the global average of 21.9%. The prevalence of waste in Asia is also 9.4% higher than the global 
average of 7.3%. About 42.3 per cent of children under six months of age are breastfed in the Asian world, while 
the world’s total low birth weight rate of 17.3 per cent is higher than the global average of 14.6 per cent. 
 

5. Economic Impact of Children’s Malnutrition 
Malnutrition Von Grebmer et al. (2009) is a general term for several factors that influence health due to 

inadequate or unbalanced food consumption or insufficient food intake. It applies to under-nutrition (calorie 
deprivation) and over-nutrition (excessive food consumption due to energy requirements). One of the key threads 
of malnutrition is the continuing scourge of undernourishment. Despite declines in certain parts of the world, 
undernutrition deprives many children of the energy and nutrients they need to grow well. It is associated with 
just under half of all deaths of children under five years of age each year (Black et al., 2013). Malnutrition in conflict 
areas is not limited to extreme hunger. Worldwide, children face various kinds of malnutrition that go beyond 
undernutrition. 

Many nations are grappling with the double burden of famine. Undernutrition in small children and later-life 
obesity contribute to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. In one world, both 
sides of the same malnutrition coin will be on a debilitating view and most likely in the same houses, classrooms 
and playgrounds. Malnutrition does not only lead to malnutrition and disease. It also challenges the fundamental 
right to a healthy life and negatively affects economic prosperity by growing health care costs and incurring 
reductions in productivity. Productivity losses are due to decreased physical and academic capacity in 
undernourishment, while obesity, missing labour days, diminished productivity at work, mortality, and permanent 
disability come into play. The effect of these costs can be tremendous on the country’s gross domestic product 
(GDP). The estimated annual GDP losses due to low weight, slow childhood growth, and micronutrient 



Economy, 2021, 8(1): 10-15 

14 
© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

 

 

deficiencies are 11% in Asia. The overall economic burden of obesity is estimated to be USD 2 trillion or 2.8% of 
global GDP – about the same economic effects as smoking or wars. At the same time, the projected effect of 
multiple causes of malnutrition on the global economy may be as high as US$ 3.5 trillion per year or US$ 500 per 
person. 

The most convincing connection between food and the economic growth of a nation is human resources. The 
World Bank published the Human Capital Index in 2018, underlining that this new age needs countries to invest 
urgently in their population to succeed in future economies. The Human Capital Index is a cumulative metric, a 
factor in children’s growth, years of schooling and stunting. It also made it possible to accept that malnutrition is 
often directly responsible for human capital shortages. At the microeconomic point, a 1% decrease in adult height 
due to childhood stunting is estimated to equal a 1.4% decline in a person’s productivity. Undernutrition impacts 
pupil success at school due to disease-related disabilities, which result in diminished intellectual ability and 
inadequate cognitive growth. This means a higher chance of going to school at a later age, rehearsing, leaving 
school and ultimately reaching a lower standard of education (Currie & Vogl, 2013). 

Governments are the main source of our mutual responsibility for these problems of child malnutrition. They 
play a crucial role in funding children’s projects, ensuring efficient implementation of care and maintaining 
sufficient social security for families. Both sectors play a part in fostering children’s welfare and well-being, and 
there is strong evidence of the need for multi-sectoral intervention for children (Kuruvilla et al., 2014). There are 
several aspects in which malnutrition may affect the child’s economic opportunities and, finally, broader socio-
economic growth. Stunting has been related to impaired cognitive performance and lower educational outcomes in 
the first 1000 days. Data from a host of countries shows that undernourished children spend less time at school, 
generally attributable to impaired brain growth and learning, injury or injury later in life, and are more likely to 
repeat stages. 

There are growing awareness and evidence that action to reduce malnutrition pays off and is much needed. In 
the interests of our well-being and our societies, both now and in the future, countries need to take on many-sided 
hydrates that are malnutrition. However, malnutrition and its negative impacts on health, education, and 
development contribute to social and economic losses for individuals and society. The overall burden of 
malnutrition is often due to higher expenditure on health services, inefficiencies in schooling and reduced efficiency. 
In summary, the cost of undernutrition-related production is proportional to the lack of human resources suffered 
by a nation due to a lower level of schooling among undernourished inhabitants, a lower output of manual labour 
faced by people suffering from stunting, and a reduction in economic ability due to a higher number of 
malnourished deaths. 
 

6. Conclusion 
Early investments in children’s health, schooling and development have accrued gains for their potential 

children and community as a whole over a child’s lifetime. Effective nations invest in their children to protect their 
rights, as can be seen by countries that have done better over the last few decades on health and economic issues. 
Good quality diet and a balanced lifestyle would affect young children for the remainder of their lives. Children are 
highly good at early development and continue to adopt the behaviours and techniques they carry into adulthood. 
Apart from the habits and patterns that have been developed, children who do not get the right nutrition when 
they develop can often suffer from physical illness. Obesity, osteoporosis, reduced muscle density, hair thickness 
and texture improvements, fatigue, irritability, and type 2 diabetes are among the most common concerns for 
malnourished children. 

Preschool 3-5 years is a critical opportunity to build safe lifestyle patterns that can last a lifetime. Preschoolers 
appear to grow in spurts, and their appetites can be unpredictable. This is possible because if parents give a healthy 
choice, they will make a realistic decision for their children. Unique breakdowns of foods, meats, vegetables, fruit 
and dairy products are like babies, differing in height, age and sex. Calcium consumption is a crucial component 
that is essential for young pre-school children to develop. Calcium is required to keep the bones and teeth solid, 
stable and successful. The World Health Organisation and UNICEF advocate breastfeeding babies within 1 hour of 
birth, breastfeeding exclusively during the first 6 months of development, and breastfeeding children up to 2 years 
of age and beyond. Beginning at 6 months, breastfeeding should be paired with a healthy, age-appropriate supply of 
solid, semi-solid and soft foods (Killen, 2005).  

There are widely accepted guidelines to target children for sustainable growth (SDG). State policymakers can 
set up a high-level structure or choose a particular agency to coordinate work with and children through sectors, 
build an environment of child-friendly services and determine how these services affect children. Heads of State and 
Government should set up a surveillance mechanism to track child care expenditure by using this instrument to 
raise domestic resources from the poorest segments of society to optimize engagement through fiscal instruments. 
Public agencies at the right level, national academics and research bodies should adopt policies to enhance the 
processing of SDG data via country-based information systems and citizens’ data and openness to determine 
children’s health, equity and carbon emissions. 

Local authorities should set up a multi-sectoral commission to combine health and social care programs for 
children and other stakeholders where appropriate. UNICEF Child Development Ambassadors and those 
worldwide should draw together nations and societies to adopt child-friendly care and sustainability policies, 
promoting ambitious carbon reductions to secure the environment for the next millennium. Children’s health, 
rights and sustainable development leaders should represent their perception of the SDGs as children and their 
potential risks of greenhouse gas emissions, especially in high-income countries. Forums on sharing ideas and 
feedback should be coordinated to highlight children’s right to a safe future and the environment. 

Global authorities on children’s well-being and children’s welfare should endorse implementing new 
recommendations to the UN Convention on the Protection of the Child to shield children from abusive market 
practices. Country leaders at the UN should work together to create a coordinated, essentially multi-sectoral UN 
system to remove division and silo and place child participation at the core of the SDGs. The WHO and UNICEF 
leaders should consult with the heads of other UN agencies to prepare concerted action to assist countries in 



Economy, 2021, 8(1): 10-15 

15 
© 2021 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

 

 

adopting focused, aggressive SDG policies and collaborate with international agencies to help countries exchange 
momentum and best practice. 
 

References  
Ahmad, Z., Daw, W. K., & Isa, A. R. (1996). Breastfeeding and weaning practices in rural communities of Kelantan. Malaysian Journal of 

Nutrition, 2(2), 148-154.  
Bharti, J., & Sakshi, P. (2016). Nutritional status and school eating pattern of adolescents. Asian Journal of Home Science, 11(1), 226-231. 

Available at: https://doi.org/10.15740/has/ajhs/11.1/226-231.  
Black, R. E., Allen, L. H., Bhutta, Z. A., Caulfield, L. E., De Onis, M., Ezzati, M., & Rivera, J. (2008). Maternal and child undernutrition: 

Global and regional exposures and health consequences. The Lancet, 371(9608), 243-260. Available at: 
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61690-0.  

Black, R. E., Victora, C. G., Walker, S. P., Bhutta, Z. A., Christian, P., De Onis, M., & Martorell, R. (2013). Maternal and child undernutrition 
and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet, 382(9890), 427-451. Available at: 
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60937-x.  

Bundy, D., & Guyatt, H. (1996). Schools for health: Focus on health, education and the school-age child. Parasitology Today, 12(8), 1-14. 
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-4758(96)30011-2.  

Chakravarty, N., Tatwadi, K., & Ravi, K. (2019). Intergenerational effects of stunting on human capital: Where does the compass point? 
International Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 9(4), 105-111. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5530/ijmedph.2019.4.24.  

Clark, H., Coll-Seck, A. M., Banerjee, A., Peterson, S., Dalglish, S. L., Ameratunga, S., & Borrazzo, J. (2020). A future for the world's 
children? A WHO–UNICEF–lancet commission. The Lancet, 395(10224), 605-658. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-
6736(19)32540-1.  

Currie, J., & Vogl, T. (2013). Early-life health and adult circumstance in developing countries. Annual Review of Economics, 5(1), 1-36. 
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-081412-103704.  

Gao, L., Bhurtyal, A., Wei, J., Akhtar, P., Wang, L., & Wang, Y. (2020). Double burden of malnutrition and nutrition transition in Asia: A 
case study of 4 selected countries with different socioeconomic development. Advances in Nutrition, 11(6), 1663-1670. Available at: 
https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa064.  

Helliwell, J. F., Wang, S., & Xu, J. (2013). World happiness: Trends, explanations and distribution. World Happiness Report 2013, 8–37. 
Retrieved from: http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2013. 

Hurley, K. M., Yousafzai, A. K., & Lopez-Boo, F. (2016). Early child development and nutrition: A review of the benefits and challenges of 
implementing integrated interventions. Advances in Nutrition, 7(2), 357-363. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3945/an.115.010363.  

Jukes, M. (2007). Impact of early childhood health and nutrition on access to education in developing countries. Paediatrics and Child Health, 
17(12), 485-491. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paed.2007.09.006.  

Killen, B. (2005). The millennium development goals for health: Rising to the challenges. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 83(11), 
876-877.  

Kuruvilla, S., Schweitzer, J., Bishai, D., Chowdhury, S., Caramani, D., Frost, L., & Adam, T. (2014). Success factors for reducing maternal and 
child mortality. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 92, 533-544. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.14.138131.  

Mary, O. O., Jerffson, O. K., & Abiodun, O. J. (2019). Nutritional status and eating patterns of preschool children in a community in South-
West Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Nutritional Sciences, 40(2), 30-37.  

Organization, W. H. (2015). World health statistics 2015: Monitoring health for the SDGs sustainable development goals (Vol. 3). World 
Health Organization. In CNR-ISTI Technical Report. 

Richter, L. M., Daelmans, B., Lombardi, J., Heymann, J., Boo, F. L., Behrman, J. R., & Dua, T. (2017). Investing in the foundation of 
sustainable development: Pathways to scale up for early childhood development. The Lancet, 389(10064), 103-118. Available at: 
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31698-1.  

Shamim, S., Naz, F., Jamalvi, S. W., & Ali, S. S. (2006). Effect of weaning period on nutritional status of children. Journal of the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, 16(8), 529-531.  

Six, W. G. C. U. (2007). Strategies for children under six. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(52), 87-101.  
UNAIDS. (2010). Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2010. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. 
UNESCO, & Jukes, M. (2006). Early childhood health,nutrition and education (pp. 86). Background Paper for the Education for All Global 

Monitoring Report 2007: Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care and Education. 
UNICEF. (2019). The state of the world’s children 2019. Children, food and nutrition: Growing well in a changing world (pp. 258). Mexico; 

Tanzania: Education Resources Information Center. 
UNICEF, & WHO, W. B. G. (2021). Joint child malnutrition estimates. World Health Organisation, 24(2), 51–78.  
US Census Bureau. (2002). US summary: 2000 (Vol. 7): US Census Bureau. 
van den Heuvel, M., Hopkins, J., Biscaro, A., Srikanthan, C., Feller, A., Bremberg, S., & Williams, R. (2013). A comparative analysis of early 

child health and development services and outcomes in countries with different redistributive policies. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-
13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1049.  

Von Grebmer, K., Nestorova, B., Quisumbing, A., Fertziger, R., Fritschel, H., Pandya-Lorch, R., & Yohannes, Y. (2009). 2009 Global Hunger 
Index: The challenge of hunger: Focus on financial crisis and gender inequality. IFPRI Brief. Retrieved from: 
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2009-global-hunger-index.  

WHO. (2017). Nutrition in the who African Region Isbn. In Nutrition in the WHO African Region (pp. 85): WHO Press. 
WHO, UNICEF, & UNFPA, W. B. (2015). Trends in maternal mortality 2010 - 2015, WHO (pp. 92): World Health Organization. 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

  

Asian Online Journal Publishing Group is not responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability, etc. caused in relation to/arising out of the use of the content. 
Any queries should be directed to the corresponding author of the article. 
 

http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2013
http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2013
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2009-global-hunger-index
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/2009-global-hunger-index

