The Cost of Hunger in Ethiopia: Implications for the Growth and Transformation of Ethiopia

June 25, 2013 | Relief web  | Report from World Food Programme

10 Things Everyone Should Know About Hunger In Ethiopia

Ethiopia loses around 16.5 percent of its GDP each year to the long-term effects of child malnutrition. That's just one of the statistics to emerge from "The Cost of Hunger in Africa" study which measures the economic impact of malnutrition in 12 different countries. Ethiopia is the third country so far to publish its findings.

ADDIS ABABA (Ethiopia)—Over the past decade, Ethiopia has taken important strides towards reducing its high levels of hunger and malnutrition. Nutrition interventions aimed at mothers and children together with programmes to boost agriculture have left millions of Ethiopian families healthier and better able to feed themselves.

However, the lasting effects of malnutrition still weigh heavily on the Ethiopian economy, as new research shows. The “Cost of Hunger in Africa” report estimates that undernutrition costs the country billions of dollars every year in lost worker productivity. Here are 10 of its key findings.

1. Today, more than 2 out of every 5 children in Ethiopia suffer from stunting, which means they're short for their age. Stunting is a lifelong condition that results when children miss out on critical nutrients while in the womb or during the first five years of their lives.
   
   
2. As many as 81% of all cases of child undernutrition and its related pathologies go untreated.
   
   
3. 44% of the health costs associated with undernutrition occur before the child turns 1 year-old.
   
   
4. 28% of all child mortality in Ethiopia is associated with undernutrition.
   
   
5. 16% of all repetitions in primary school are associated with stunting
   
   
6. Stunted children achieve 1.1 years less in school education.
   
   
7. Child mortality associated with undernutrition has reduced Ethiopia’s workforce by 8%
   
   
8. 67% of the adult population in Ethiopia suffered from stunting as children.
   
   
9. The annual costs associated with child undernutrition are estimated at Ethiopian birr (ETB) 55.5 billion, which is equivalent to 16.5% of GDP.
   
   
10. Eliminating stunting in Ethiopia is a necessary step for its growth and transformation.