Tajikistan: Nutrition Profile

Speeches Shim

Feed the Future, through USAID, has trained thousands of Tajik women to make healthy meals, such as the kidney bean salad this child is eating.
  • Tajikistan

    Flag of Tajikistan

  • Population

    8.7 Million

  • Pop. Under 5

    1.2 Million

  • % Stunting

    26% Of Children Under 5

  • % Underweight

    12% Of Children Under 5

Photo credit: USAID

Malnutrition in childhood and pregnancy has many adverse consequences for child survival and long-term well-being. It also has far-reaching consequences for human capital, economic productivity, and national development overall. The consequences of malnutrition should be a significant concern for policymakers in Tajikistan, where 312,000 children under 5 years (26 percent) suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age), while 10 percent of children suffer from acute malnutrition (wasting or low weight-for-height).

USAID Programs: Accelerating Progress in Nutrition

As of January 2018, the following USAID programs were active in Tajikistan. Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, emphasizes agriculture as a driver of economic growth through a strategy that encompasses five core investment areas—agriculture, nutrition, policy, infrastructure, and institutional capacity— and aligns with the country’s investment priorities. USAID also works with the World Bank-managed Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). The Feed the Future initiative incorporates gender issues, working with women to improve agricultural productivity and health knowledge and to ensure better nutrition and health for the family, especially children. In Tajikistan, Feed the Future supports activities in 12 districts of Khatlon Province in the southwest region, along the border of Afghanistan. Khatlon is a major agriculture-producing region, with the highest undernutrition rates in the country and the largest number of people living below the poverty line.

  • Prevention and Treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition Project
  • Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Project
  • Feed the Future Tajikistan Health and Nutrition Project
  • Feed the Future Land Market Development Activity
  • Tajikistan Nutrition Sensitive Vegetable Technologies Activity
  • Feed the Future Farmer-to-Farmer Program
  • Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture
  • Feed the Future Women’s Entrepreneurship for Empowerment Project
  • Universal Salt Iodization (Buy in to the UNICEF umbrella grant)

 

For more information, read the Tajikistan country profile [PDF, 239KB].