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Hunger · Ghana · Northern, Upper West, Upper East

Child malnutrition in Northeast

29%of children under five stunted (2022 survey)High

Northeast ranks 2nd of 17 parts of Ghana for child stunting, above Ghana's 17%.

6.8%children under 5 wasted; Ghana 6.0%
20%children under 5 underweight; Ghana 12%
65%children 6-59 months anaemic; Ghana 49%

Child stunting across Ghana

The same 2022 survey, every part it reports.

  1. 1Northern(post 2022)Northern, Upper West, Upper East30%
  2. 2NortheastNorthern, Upper West, Upper East29%
  3. 3Northern (pre 2022)Northern, Upper West, Upper East28%
  4. 4Upper EastNorthern, Upper West, Upper East21%
  5. 5SavannahNorthern, Upper West, Upper East21%
  6. 6OtiVolta (pre 2022)20%
  7. 7Ashanti17%
  8. 8BonoBrong-Ahafo17%
  9. 9Central17%
  10. 10AhafoBrong-Ahafo17%
  11. 11Upper WestNorthern, Upper West, Upper East17%
  12. 12Volta (post 2022)Volta (pre 2022)14%
  13. 13Bono EastBrong-Ahafo14%
  14. 14Western (post 2022)Western (pre 2022)14%
  15. 15Greater Accra11%
  16. 16Western NorthWestern (pre 2022)11%
  17. 17Eastern10%

Frequently asked questions

What is the child malnutrition rate in Northeast?

In Ghana's 2022 Demographic and Health Survey, 29% of children under five in Northeast were stunted (too short for their age), 6.8% wasted and 20% underweight.

Is malnutrition in Northeast worse than in the rest of Ghana?

Northeast ranks 2nd of 17 for stunting in the survey, highest first, above Ghana's 17%.

How many children are anaemic in Northeast?

65% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Northeast had anaemia in 2022, above Ghana's 49%; WHO counts 40% or more as a severe public health problem.

Is there data for cities and towns in Northeast?

The survey reports Ghana by Northern, Upper West, Upper East and its parts, not by city, so a town or neighbourhood in Northeast shares these figures. Local clinics and nutrition programmes keep their own records.

Source: Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2022 (GH2022DHS), via The DHS Program, STATcompiler. Survey estimates for small regions carry wide margins; read differences of a few points as similar.

Hunger in Ghana as a whole

Undernourishment, food insecurity, the Global Hunger Index and the UN's latest estimates for the country.