![[Iraq] Health situation for children in Basra has deteriorated markedly since the US-led invasion in 2003. [Date picture taken: 04/12/2006]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/200641219.jpg.webp?itok=xM6C3-PO "Of Iraq's 4.8 million children under five, one in five are thought to be chronically malnourished and about one in 10 underweight")
IRIN wrongly attributed an estimate of 4.5 million undernourished Iraqi children to UNICEF in a recent report. IRIN regrets the error.
There are an estimated 4.8 million children under five in Iraq in total. About one in five of them are thought to be chronically malnourished ("stunted") and about one in 10 are underweight, according to UNICEF.
Arriving at a total figure of malnourished children in Iraq is difficult. Some children under five suffer more than one condition at the same time. The nutritional status of children over the age of five is rarely surveyed. There is little reliable data on micronutrient deficiencies in children in Iraq or any chronic malnourishment of children over five. Furthermore, much of the available data is becoming out of date, and does not reflect the effects of the last year of rising insecurity, aid officials point out.
There are an estimated 13.8 million children overall in Iraq, according to UN figures.
Full revised article: Malnutrition among under-fives
bp/ar/ed
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