NUTRITIONAL SITUATION AMONG CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN THE DRC

Among children aged 0-59 months in CAR, stunting exceeds the emergency threshold of 30% in all prefectures except the capital Bangui. The highest prevalence is observed in Sangha-Mbaéré with 57%. This is a major problem because stunting is irreversible and can have considerable consequences for the country's development. Severe acute malnutrition rates are less than 2% with pockets of emergency zones. Underweight remains high, especially in the Sangha-Mbaéré prefecture, with a prevalence rate of 32.3%, which is higher than the WHO's critical threshold (30%). The highest prevalence of severe acute malnutrition among pregnant and lactating women is observed in the Ouaka prefecture with 20.5%. The national response to the problem of malnutrition remains dependent on both the difficulties faced by the Central African health system and the place given to nutrition in the Government's policies, despite the efforts made in the implementation of initiatives to improve the nutritional status and living conditions of Central Africans.