ABSTRACT
Malnutrition in children, which results from complex societal processes, has proven a durable scourge in the modern era. It is an important determinant of mortality and morbidity, and thus of the quality of life, and an impediment to the development of individuals, communities, and nations. Its persistent presence and grievous consequences led the heads of state at the 1990 World Summit on Children to commit to halving 1990 levels by the year 2000 (UN, 1990). This goal was endorsed at the International Conference on Nutrition in 1992 (FAO/WHO, 1992), where the etiological complexity of child malnutrition was again recognized. A subsidiary goal of a 20% reduction by 1995 was later established (UNICEF, 1993a).
