Bhutan launches framework to tackle Triple Burden of Child Malnutrition
NGAWANG JAMPHEL Thimphu
The Ministry of Health and UNICEF Bhutan, launched Nourishing Bhutan – Tackling the Triple Burden of Child Malnutrition.
The framework is a national roadmap aimed at ensuring that every child grows up healthy, strong, and ready to achieve their full potential on 9 September 2025.
The launch also coincided with UNICEF’s latest global report, Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children, highlighting rising overweight and obesity among children, even in Bhutan
The framework addresses what experts refer to as the “triple burden” of malnutrition—undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity.
According to the factsheet released alongside the framework, Bhutan has made notable progress in child nutrition over the past decade, while certain areas remain a challenge.
Between 2010 and 2023, child stunting—low height for age—fell sharply from 33.5 percent to 18 percent, marking a 15-percentage point decline. Child wasting, a measure of acute malnutrition, decreased slightly from 5.9 percent to 5 percent, and child overweight fell from 7.6 percent to 5.5 percent.
Similarly, low birthweight cases reduced from 11.7 percent to 7 percent, and exclusive breastfeeding practices among infants aged 0–5 months increased from 43 percent to 69 percent.
However, despite these improvements, the proportion of children under five free from stunting, wasting, or overweight remained steady at 59 percent over the years.
Nonetheless, some concerns persist. Anaemia among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) has remained almost unchanged, dropping marginally from 41.5 percent in 2010 to 41 percent in 2023.
Adolescent girls are particularly affected by micronutrient deficiencies, including iron (42 percent), folate (29 percent), vitamin B12 (25 percent), and vitamin D (90 percent).
Undernutrition and anaemia continue to affect a significant portion of Bhutanese children, which may have long-term impacts on learning, health, and productivity.
The UNICEF global report highlighted a shift in global malnutrition patterns, noting that overweight and obesity have overtaken underweight as the most common form of malnutrition worldwide.
In Bhutan, overweight and obesity among children aged 5–19 years have tripled over the past two decades, rising from 6 percent in 2000 to 18 percent in 2022, with girls disproportionately affected (23 percent) compared to boys (14 percent).
PM Tshering Tobgay during the launch emphasized the urgent need for action, describing child nutrition as the foundation of Bhutan’s future.
“Our future is about our children. If they are undernourished or robbed of their potential before they even turn five, all our national efforts will be for nothing,” he said.
He stressed that Nourishing Bhutan – Framework for Action is not just a policy document but a bold roadmap to protect children’s health, support their growth, and strengthen national development.
The PM warned that poor nutrition not only limits children’s potential but also contributes to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, which already strain Bhutan’s health system.
He also urged families, schools, and communities to promote healthy habits and resist the increasing influence of unhealthy food environments.
The UNICEF report found that Bhutanese children and adolescents are growing up in environments dominated by cheap, ultra-processed foods.
Consumption of sugary drinks, fast food, and salty snacks is common, and advertisements for unhealthy foods heavily influence food choices, both at home and in schools.
The 2015 National Nutrition Survey had also reported that only 18 percent of children aged 6–23 months met minimum dietary standards, with most relying heavily on rice and other starchy staples while consuming limited vegetables, fruits, or protein.
UNICEF Representative Rushnan Murtaza described the report as a wake-up call for Bhutan.
“Too many children in Bhutan are growing up surrounded by unhealthy food that harms their bodies and their confidence,” she said. “Every child deserves good nutrition so they can grow, learn, and thrive.”
She added, this Framework for Action is Bhutan’s promise to give children the healthy future they deserve.
Despite the challenges, Bhutan has made remarkable progress. Stunting among children under five has nearly halved in the last decade, and more than half of children under five are now free from undernutrition.
Government-supported fortified school meals benefit nearly 90,000 students, while policies such as one child, one egg per day aim to improve protein intake.
The government has also strengthened school feeding programs and expanded iron and folic acid supplementation, alongside updating national food and nutrition policies to align with modern challenges.
Meanwhile, the PM, while praising these achievements, cautioned against complacency. He called for stronger regulation of junk food marketing and promotion of locally sourced nutritious food.
Schools were urged to serve as models of healthy learning, where nutrition is integrated into both curriculum and daily practice.
The new framework identifies several urgent priorities for Bhutan’s fight against malnutrition. These include investing more in children’s nutrition to ensure affordable, healthy meals in schools and communities, enforcing stricter laws to regulate the marketing of unhealthy foods, and using data and evidence to monitor nutrition risks.
The framework also emphasizes innovation and technology, including digital tools and artificial intelligence, to prevent, detect, and manage malnutrition.
Strong collaboration across government ministries, UN agencies, the private sector, communities, and young people is seen as essential to achieving meaningful results.
In his closing remarks, the PM highlighted that child nutrition is not just a health issue but also a matter of national development and identity.
“Every child has the right to grow up healthy, strong, and proud to be Bhutanese. We must all take responsibility—parents, teachers, leaders, and communities. Our children’s future is at stake, and therefore, our nation’s future is at stake,” he said.
Both the government and UNICEF reaffirmed their dedication to ensuring that every child has access to nutritious food, dignity, and opportunity.
According to UNICEF, every dollar invested in child nutrition could yield up to USD 23 in long-term returns through improved health, education, and productivity.
