Progress for children N°9. Achieving the MDGs with equity

This UNICEF report presents data to estimate progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The report examines each MDG and shows the significant disparities between countries and regions of the world. The first chapter particularly examines the first MDG. The report presents the trends of the prevalence rate of stunting amongst children under 5 years of age. There has been some progress since the rate has decreased from 31% in 1990 to 26% in 2008. However, results are insufficient to achieve the Goals. This failure can be explained partially by regional inequalities, in particular gender inequalities, geographical inequalities (rural/urban) and socio-economic inequalities (poverty). In developing countries, children from the poorest quintile are 3 times more likely to be malnourished than children from the richest quintile. Similarly, prevalence amongst girls is higher than amongst boys. These results reveal the multiple dimensions of nutrition: mitigating the prevalence of malnutrition requires not only a high quality and a sufficient quantity of food, but also drinking water, good feeding practices, viable health services and improved sanitation. Progress achieved in those domains, however, remains limited.