{"id":4088,"date":"2026-02-09T09:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/?page_id=4088"},"modified":"2026-02-10T06:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T06:54:50","slug":"nutrition-kenya","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/nutrition-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"Nutrition"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"4088\" class=\"elementor elementor-4088\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3fb9081 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3fb9081\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d47e8ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d47e8ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Challenge<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b0e2d5a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b0e2d5a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6702e3e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6702e3e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a6f41e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a6f41e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite progress in recent years, malnutrition remains a major public health challenge in Kenya, disproportionately affecting women, children, and adolescents. According to the\u00a02022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS),\u00a018\u202f% of children under five are stunted (chronically undernourished),\u00a010\u202f% are underweight, and\u00a05\u202f% are wasted (acutely malnourished). Overweight and obesity are also emerging concerns, with\u00a0approximately 3\u202f% of children under five overweight<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">highlighting a\u00a0\u201cdouble burden\u201d\u00a0of undernutrition and overnutrition coexisting within the same population.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Maternal nutrition is equally concerning. Anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies are widespread: about 41.6\u202f% of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-997245a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"997245a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a18536 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4a18536\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4188\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 5D Mark IV&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1751891466&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;60&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"&#8211; Iman and other women in the group preparing the food\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-4188\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?w=2560&ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?resize=365%2C243&ssl=1 365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-attachment-id=\"4188\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 5D Mark IV&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1751891466&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;60&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"&#8211; Iman and other women in the group preparing the food\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Iman-and-other-women-in-the-group-preparing-the-food-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5001f69 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5001f69\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e130c41 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e130c41\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">pregnant women and 26.3\u202f% of preschool children are anaemic, while deficiencies in folate and zinc affect a large share of women and children. Poor dietary diversity, with only a\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">minority of adults consuming adequate servings of fruits and vegetables<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">compounds these issues and limits healthy growth and development.<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The consequences are farreaching. Childhood stunting<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">a result of chronic undernutrition<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">impairs cognitive development, reduces school performance, and limits lifetime productivity. Maternal undernutrition contributes to an<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">emia, low birth weight, and increased risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Socioeconomic and geographic disparities persist, with higher malnutrition levels in rural and arid regions and among the poorest households.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kenya\u2019s nutrition landscape is shaped by food insecurity, poverty, limited access to diverse and nutrientrich diets, and gaps in nutrition services and education. Rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles also contribute to rising overweight and obesity, increasing the risk of dietrelated noncommunicable diseases.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Addressing this complex challenge requires coordinated multisectoral action to improve access to nutritious foods, strengthen maternal and child nutrition services, and empower families with knowledge and support for optimal diet and feeding practices.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Challenge Despite progress in recent years, malnutrition remains a major public health challenge in Kenya, disproportionately affecting women, children, and adolescents. According to the\u00a02022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width.php","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"yst_prominent_words":[570,104,261,2083,106,748,751,430,172],"class_list":["post-4088","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v14.6.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amref Health Africa strengthens nutrition in Kenya through community-based services, maternal and child nutrition programmes, and primary health care systems.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/nutrition-kenya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nutrition - Amref Health Africa in Kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amref Health Africa strengthens nutrition in Kenya through community-based services, maternal and child nutrition programmes, and primary health care systems.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/nutrition-kenya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amref Health Africa in Kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/amrefke\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T06:54:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Pillar-1-e1557119894454.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&#038;ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Amref_Kenya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Amref_Kenya\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/\",\"name\":\"Amref Health Africa in Kenya\",\"description\":\"Creating Lasting Health Change in Africa\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/nutrition-kenya\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/nutrition-kenya\/\",\"name\":\"Nutrition - Amref Health Africa in Kenya\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T09:02:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-10T06:54:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Amref Health Africa strengthens nutrition in Kenya through community-based services, maternal and child nutrition programmes, and primary health care systems.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/nutrition-kenya\/\"]}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/Pa9OAV-13W","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4088"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4192,"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4088\/revisions\/4192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}