A Comprehensive Roadmap for Reversing Under-Five Malnutrition on the Arab States Based on the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Introduction: Eradicating malnutrition, which is a global problem, is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations. Identifying indicators that can predict and prevent malnutrition is important for ensuring physical and mental health of children. Aim: To analyze and identify the SDG indicators of Arab States influencing stunting, as an indicator of malnutrition, among children under-five of age. Methods: Indices representing nutrition-related SDG indicators were compiled from global SDG data for 22 countries of the Arab region. Of all SDG indicators, 76 relevant indicators covering the 17 SDGs were identified and compiled from the global database of UNDP. Descriptive analysis was used to correlate the indicators of stunting (using height-for-age below 2 standard deviation score) with 77 SDG indicators. The associations were presented as graphic illustrations. Findings: Almost two-thirds of the SDG indicators showed some association with stunting [47 (61%)]. The associations varied by level of income. High income countries (HIC) performed better than the low income countries (LIC). Middle income countries (MIC) were staggering to move towards the HIC. All the SDGs had at least 2 or more indicators that correlated with stunting. The most significant indicator that was associated with nutrition was the corruption index for SDG16: “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, which was reversely correlated with stunting. Conclusions: All the 17 SDGs are integral for reversing malnutrition and can be integrated into a comprehensive roadmap for reversing malnutrition. The high correlation with SDG17 indicates that the situation of conflict in the Arab countries is one of the major holdbacks for development. Peace and justice are a mandate for preventing malnutrition in children and its consequences in this region.