The consequences of malnutrition are serious and life-long, falling hardest on the very poor and on women and children. Overall in developing countries, nearly one-third of children are underweight or stunted (low height for age)3. Under nutrition interacts with repeated bouts of infectious disease; causing an estimated 3.5 million preventable maternal and child deaths annually4, and its economic costs in terms of lost national productivity and economic growth are huge. In all its forms, malnutrition accounts for more than 50 per cent of child mortality in Nepal based on WHO estimates. Malnourished children who do survive are more frequently ill and suffer the life-long consequences of impaired physical and cognitive development. These consequences translate to poor human resource capital and poor economic development.
