Malnutrition in Cambodia
Combatting Malnutrition in Cambodia
on April 25, 2020 Global Health

SEATTLE, Washington — From 2007 to 2014, the proportion of people living in poverty in Cambodia dropped from 48 percent to 14 percent. While the proportion of the population that qualifies as undernourished fell from 29 percent to 15.3 percent from between 1999 and 2016, there are still approximately 2.3 million Cambodians living with serious food insecurity and poor quality diets. In 2014, 10 percent of children below the age of five suffered from acute malnutrition, and about 32 percent suffered from chronic malnutrition in Cambodia. Today, at least 24 percent of children are malnourished. These numbers have dropped significantly, but food security and nutrition remain crucial issues.

Poverty and Malnutrition in Cambodia

Many factors contribute to malnutrition in Cambodia, including inadequate infant and young child feeding practices as well as maternal undernutrition, obesity and anemia. Poverty and poor sanitation are issues at the root of food insecurity and malnutrition. Targeting these issues in addition to nutrition-specific interventions will help reduce malnutrition.

There is also a gap between the number of people in rural versus urban areas who suffer from malnutrition. Children have a 10 percent higher rate of stunting in rural areas although it varies from province to province. Wasting is also more common in rural areas. Unfortunately, since 80 percent of the population in Cambodia live in rural areas, this affects a large number of the population. This is largely due to the 42 percent of men and women working in agriculture.
Full article: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/malnutri ... -cambodia/