The Cost of Hunger in Africa

A child suffering from undernutrition has a higher chance to fall ill or worse - to die at a young age. Further to the human tragedy, this reduces the potential of the future working population and thus reduces the development of a country. Stunted children have a higher probability to fall behind at school, leading to a workforce with less education. The Cost of Hunger in Africa study estimates the social and economic impacts of child undernutrition and provides evidence supporting investments in human capital for sustainable development in African countries.

Led by the African Union Commission (AUC), and implemented by its Member States, the COHA study is supported by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The COHA program provides governments and partners with key actionable and time-bound priority recommendations to improve the lives of children across the continent.

So far, twenty-one (21) countries have completed the study- Burkina Faso, Chad, DRC, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia (The), Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.