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Malnutrition in Afghanistan : Scale,
 Scope, Causes, and Potential ResponseThis book has the potential to
 contribute to a reversing of this trend, whereby activities
 in not only the health sector but also in other sectors
 relevant to nutrition will gain increased support and
 prominence in national development planning. South Asia has
 by far the largest number of malnourished women and
 children, and no other region of the world has higher rates
 of malnutrition. Malnutrition in childhood is the biggest
 contributor to child mortality; a third of child deaths have
 malnutrition as an underlying cause. For the surviving
 children, malnutrition has lifelong implications because it
 severely reduces a child's ability to learn and to grow
 to his or her full potential. Malnutrition thus leads to
 less productive adults and weaker national economic
 performance. Therefore, the impact of malnutrition on a
 society's productivity and well being and a
 nation's long-term development is hard to
 underestimate. For the South Asia region of the World Bank,
 malnutrition is a key development priority, and in the
 coming years, the Bank intends to enhance dramatically its
 response to this challenge. As a first step, a series of
 country assessments such as this one are being carried out.
 These assessments will be used to reinforce the dialogue
 with governments and other development partners to scale up
 an evidence-based response against malnutrition. To succeed,
 we will need to address the problem comprehensively, which
 will require engaging several sectors. This assessment of
 malnutrition in Afghanistan lays out the scale, scope, and
 causes of the problem. The assessment also indicates key
 elements of a potential response.
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A Closer Look at Child Mortality among Adivasis in IndiaThe authors use data from the National Family Health Survey 2005 to present age-specific patterns of child mortality among India's tribal (Adivasi) population. The analysis shows three clear findings. First, a disproportionately high number of child deaths are concentrated among Adivasis, especially in the 1-5 age group and in those states and districts where there is a high concentration of Adivasis. Any effort to reduce child morality in the aggregate will have to focus more squarely on lowering mortality among the Adivasis. Second, the gap in mortality between Adivasi children and the rest really appears after the age of one. In fact, before the age of one, tribal children face more or less similar odds of dying as other children. However, these odds significantly reverse later. This calls for a shift in attention from infant mortality or in general under-five mortality to factors that cause a wedge between tribal children and the rest between the ages of one and five. Third, the analysis goes contrary to the conventional narrative of poverty being the primary factor driving differences between mortality outcomes. Instead, the authors find that breaking down child mortality by age leads to a much more refined picture. Tribal status is significant even after controlling for wealth.
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How to Protect and Promote the Nutrition of Mothers and Children in Latin America and the CaribbeanThe study includes: glossary;
 references; and annexes. A number of countries in the Latin
 America and Caribbean (LAC) region have been severely hit by
 food-price crises in 2008 and are still very vulnerable to
 food-price volatility experienced since late 2010.
 Humanitarian responses to high food prices, crises, shocks,
 or emergency situations should help the poor avoid the
 consequences of the reduced affordability of a basic food
 basket. This is especially crucial in the first 1,000 days
 of life (that is, children from pregnancy until they reach 2
 years of age and breastfeeding women), since most of the
 physical and cognitive damages due to improper nutrition in
 this period are irreversible. The World Bank is leading a
 regional study on how to improve LAC country responses so as
 to protect the nutritional status of the poorest and most
 vulnerable in times of crises and emergencies.