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percentage points higher in rural areas than in urban areas (see Table 2.1). The inverse situation occurred
in Liberia, where the prevalence of wasting was 8% in urban areas and 6% in rural areas--a discrepancy
of 3 percentage points.
The role of the household head’s sex and age
Overall, there were no marked differences in the wasting prevalence by the sex and age of the
household head in sub-Saharan Africa (see Figures 2.3 and 2.4). The difference by sex of head of
household was substantial only in Nigeria, where the wasting prevalence was 13% for children living with
a male household head and 9% for children living with a female household head (a difference of 4
percentage points) (see Table 2.1). In Rwanda the wasting prevalence for children living with a household
head less than age 50 (2%) was lower than that of children living with a household head who was at least
age 50 (6%), a difference of 3 percentage points.
Variations during the last 13 years
The most important progress in reducing the wasting prevalence, in terms of percentage points,
took place in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe (see Table 2.2). The wasting prevalence in Burkina Faso was
19% in 2003 and 14% in 2010, a decrease of 5 percentage points. In Zimbabwe the reduction between
surveys was 4 percentage points (2005-06: 6% and 2010-11: 3%). The opposite shift occurred in Mali and
Nigeria, where rates of wasting increased by about 3 percentage points (Mali 2001: 11% and 2006: 14%;
Nigeria 2003: 9% and 2008: 12%) (see Figures 2.5 and 2.6).
2.2 Stunting
The term stunting refers to shortness-for-age; an indicator of chronic malnutrition calculated by
comparing the height-for-age of a child with a reference population of well-nourished, healthy children.
Stunting could be a sign of failure to attain linear growth potential as a consequence of suboptimal health
and/or nutritional conditions (WFP, 2013; WHO, 1995).
As Table 2.3 indicates, the stunting prevalence in Africa ranged from 50% in Niger and 51% in
Burundi to 22% in Senegal. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and Malawi, as well as
Niger and Burundi, had stunting prevalence above 40% (see Map 2.2.).
Sex and geographic disparities
In all countries, the prevalence of stunting among children less than age 5 was higher for males
than for females (see Figure 2.7). This sex disparity was 6 percentage points higher for males than
females in Burundi and 5 percentage points higher for males than females in Benin, Liberia, and Malawi
(see Table 2.3).
In every country the stunting prevalence in rural areas was higher than that in urban areas (see
Figure 2.8). This difference was most pronounced among children in Burundi and Niger, where the
stunting prevalence was 20 percentage points greater in rural areas than in urban areas. The country of
Sao Tomé and Príncipe had the lowest geographic variation—2 percentage points higher in rural than
urban areas; see Table 2.3).
The role of the household head’s sex and age
The sex of the household head played an important role in stunting prevalence, but the pattern
was not consistent across countries. The stunting prevalence was at least one percentage point higher for
children living with a male household head in 8 countries, but at least 1 percentage point higher for
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