WHO works together with partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to systematically monitor all forms of malnutrition:

- undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals);

- micronutrient-related malnutrition (micronutrient deficiencies and micronutrient excess); and

- overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers).

We collect, analyse, publish and disseminate these data to support countries to set nutrition targets, track progress, and define policies and strategies for improving nutrition to support health and well-being for all, at all ages, and to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and Goal 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages), together with other regional and global commitments within the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition and WHO’s “Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025”, which aims for “a world free from all forms of malnutrition where all people achieve health and well-being”.

You can access our data through several free-to-use nutrition-related data management systems, which include health observatories, databases, data banks, information systems and online libraries, as well as reports. Data on these systems come from different sources, including national nutrition surveillance systems, household surveys, research papers and reports developed by countries, other United Nations agencies, academia and nongovernmental organizations. These systems include data for countries in the Region, and we use these data to measure trends and compare data over time, across countries and regions.

Related links

Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025: nutrition as a direct goal (p. 9)

Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025: nutrition as an enabler for health-related goals (p. 9)

Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025: nutrition as an enabler for NCD targets and objectives (p. 6)

Ambition and action in nutrition 2016–2025: nutrition as an enabler for other goals (p. 9)

Driving commitment for nutrition within the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition: policy brief

Global targets 2025 to improve maternal, infant and young child nutrition

Malnutrition in all its forms

Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger

Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNISON): noncommunicable diseases, diets and nutrition