Iron Deficiency in Developing Countries
- Iron deficiency is the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world. (HarvestPlus)
- As many as five billion people worldwide are estimated to be iron deficient. (World Health Organization [WHO])
- Iron deficiency is the main cause of anemia. More than 2 billion people worldwide are anemic, and much of it is due to iron deficiency. (HarvestPlus)
- Nine out of ten anemia sufferers live in developing countries. On average, every second pregnant woman and four out of ten pre-school children are anemic. (WHO)
- In developing countries, anemia affects males and females, the young and old, and all age groups. More than half of pregnant women and children (school-age and pre-school combined) suffer from anemia, as do 45 percent of the elderly and 30 percent of adult men. (HarvestPlus)
- Anemia is particularly pronounced in Southeast Asia and Africa where it is closely linked to poverty. (HarvestPlus)
- Nearly 250 million people in Africa, and 800 million in Southeast Asia, are affected by anemia. (HarvestPlus)
- Iron deficiency anemia exacts a heavy toll on the populations it affects in terms of ill health, premature death, impaired child development, and lost earnings. (WHO)
- Iron deficiency in adults has been found to lower workforce productivity, carrying estimated losses of up to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the worst affected countries. (The United Nations Children’s Fund/Micronutrient Initiative, Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency: A Global Assessment, 2004).
- Overall, the most vulnerable, the poorest, and the least educated are disproportionately affected by iron deficiency, and stand to gain the most from its reduction. (WHO)
- In infants and children, iron deficiency impairs physical growth, mental development, and learning capacity. In adults, it causes fatigue and reduced work capacity. Severe anemia also heightens the risk of women dying during childbirth. (HarvestPlus)
- In the Philippines, 32 percent of women between 15 and 49 years of age are anemic and as many as 75 percent may be iron deficient. (“Iron-Biofortified Rice Improves the Iron Stores of Non-Anemic Filipino Women,” Journal of Nutrition, 2005)