Undernutrition for 5 to 19 year olds
Undernutrition for 5 to 19 year olds
Prevalence rate (%) of children and adolescents 5-19 years of age with Z-scores defined as BMI-for-age index less than -2 standard deviations from the median BMI of a reference population of children/adolescents of the same age and/or having bilateral pitting oedema
Unit Description:
Percentage
Numerator:
Number of children and adolescents 5-19 years that meet the criteria for undernutrition
Denominator:
Total number of children and adolescents 5-19 years surveyed
Disaggregation:
Geographical area, sex
Threshold / Standard:
WHO Reference 2007 www.who.int/growthref.
General guidance:
Should be based on a methodologically solid anthropometric nutrition survey finding and include Confidence Intervals
Guidance on phases:
Preparatory and phase iv and beyond
Phase applicability:
Pre-crisis/Baseline
Phase 4
Comments:
Particularly important for adolescent girls. Data on the undernutrition rate should be compared by sex in order to identify any specific discrimination girls, boys, adolescent girls and adolescent boys might face in accessing nutrition. In case there is an important difference between the percentage of girls and the percentage of boys suffering from undernutrition, the programme should address these gaps by undertaking a gender analysis of the specific challenges the disadvantaged group is facing, including an analysis of the socio cultural habits and beliefs that might differently impact on girls' and boys' nutritional well being. Note: the indicator includes 5.0 to 19.0 years. Based on WHO 2007 reference population