TEHRAN – The prevalence of malnutrition among children under the age of five has decreased by 42% in the country thanks to the effective implementation of the national child care nutrition program, Deputy Health Minister Alileza Leisi said.
Emphasizing the importance of anthropometric indicators in assessing children’s nutritional status, officials reported that “age weight,” “height weight,” and “age height” are among the key indicators, the Ministry of Health.
According to the latest report, the prevalence of low weight, waste, and stunting among children under the age of 5 is 4.3, 4.3, and 4.8%, respectively, a low prevalence classification according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
All children covered by the program will be monitored regularly. If signs of growth impaired or malnutrition are observed, they will be referred to a nutritionist at a comprehensive healthcare service center, he added.
The Child Care Nutrition Program was launched in the fall of 2023 and improved the nutritional status of children through the cooperation of the Planning and Budget organizations and the Cooperative, Department of Labor and Human Services.
The budget allocated to the programme increased from 14 trillion rials per year (approximately $14.5 million) to 30 trillion rials this year in March 2024. During the same period, the number of children increased from 134,000 to 200,000.
The Ministry of Health will work with the Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare to identify, collect and check child information based on priorities. Eligible children are identified as supported by the program.
UNICEF – WHO-WB Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates 2025 Edition
The team between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank updates joint and local estimates of malnutrition in children under the age of five every other year.
Estimates of child malnutrition on indicators of stunting, wastefulness, overweight, and underweight explain the magnitude and patterns of malnutrition in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 2.2.
UNICEF and WHO-WB Co-Child Malnutrition estimates that interagency groups update global and regional estimates of the prevalence and number of each indicator every other year.
The 2025 edition of the main estimates include global, regional and national trends of stunting and overweight from 2000 to 2024, with the first sexually decomposed estimates. Due to waste and severe waste, national estimates are based on available primary data sources (such as household surveys), and global and regional trends are presented from 2000 to 2024. The national progress assessment for the 2030 goals is summarized in a regional summary and is included in the report.
The Estimation of Co-Children Malnutrition (JME), released in 2025, highlights insufficient progress to reach the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) Global Nutrition Targets and SDG Target 2.2. More than a quarter (28%) of all countries are “on track” to halve the number of children affected by stunting by 2030. A rating of previous progress is not possible in 20% of countries. Even fewer countries are expected to meet their 2030 target of a 3% overweight prevalence rate, with only 17% of countries currently “on track.” Furthermore, in more than a third of all countries, it is impossible to assess progress towards wasteful targets.
By 2030, the world needs a more intensive effort to achieve global goals for stunting, wastefulness and overweight in children.
Data availability gaps in some regions make it difficult to accurately assess progress towards global goals. Regular data collection is essential for monitoring and reporting national, regional and global progress in child malnutrition.
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