Recommendations for Developing Commitments on Nutrition and Gender Equality

Out of an estimated 820 million chronically undernourished people worldwide, 60% are women and girls. Two in every three women of reproductive age – more than 1 billion women – suffer from at least one essential micronutrient deficiency.1 Since 2020, in the 12 countries hardest hit by the global food and nutrition crisis, the number of pregnant and breastfeeding women and adolescent girls suffering from acute malnutrition has soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million – or 25%.2 At the same time, overweight and obesity disproportionately impacts women and girls.3 The prevalence of obesity is higher for women than for men in all countries, in both urban and rural settings, regardless of household wealth quintile, according to most recent available data.4,5 Poor nutrition outcomes (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity) among women and girls hinder their economic opportunities and undermine progress on gender equality. For example, the rate of anaemia globally is increasing, affecting 3 in 10 women of reproductive age, with a global economic cost of $113 billion per year.