The Guardian: Decades of Progress Reducing Child Malnutrition in Nepal Under Threat

By Helen Keller Intl
| June 26, 2026

An article from The Guardian details Nepal’s tremendous progress in reducing child malnutrition and warns that those gains are now at risk due to foreign aid cuts.

For years, Nepal has been a global success story in the fight against child malnutrition. Despite significant challenges, including ongoing climate shocks, economic disruption, and COVID-19, the country has steadily reduced the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition thanks to sustained investment in community health and nutrition services.

Yet, as global health reporter Kat Lay explains, new data from a nationwide survey of children under five reveals that those hard-won gains are now under threat.

The screening, led by the Government of Nepal with support from Helen Keller Intl, assessed more than one million children. It found that the national rate of acute malnutrition had increased from 6.6% to 7.8%, reaching up to 12.3% in the densely populated Madhesh Province. Also known as wasting, severe acute malnutrition is the deadliest form of malnutrition and requires urgent treatment to protect a child’s health and life.

Pooja Pandey Rana, Helen Keller’s Country Director for Nepal and Bangladesh, tells The Guardian that the finding underscores the life-threatening consequences of cuts to effective nutrition programs.

“The worry we have is we are now backsliding,” says Pooja. “We saw this sudden, abrupt [halt]. In the last 14 months, we have seen this breakdown of systems where you have RUTF [ready-to-use therapeutic food], but we don’t have families coming in. You have services, but there’s no one to refer or follow up.”

Malnutrition remains one of the leading underlying causes of death among children under five globally. Yet proven, cost-effective interventions – such as vitamin A supplementation, comprehensive prenatal vitamins, breastfeeding support, and community-based management of acute malnutrition – can make a world of difference in ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow up healthy.

In Nepal, and across nearly 20 countries in Asia and Africa, Helen Keller Intl partners with governments and community health heroes to deliver these life-saving nutrition interventions that not only treat malnutrition but help prevent it so children can grow and thrive.

We know what works to prevent and treat childhood malnutrition. With your support, we can continue to support proven, life-saving nutrition programs that will help millions of children live a healthy life filled with potential.

Read the article: Child malnutrition in Nepal has reached ‘alarming’ levels since aid cuts, survey finds