The Global Health Observatory

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Table Table
Indicator name:
Anaemia, children aged 6–59 months with anaemia (thousands) (2021 edition), number
Short name:
Anaemia prevalence in children
Data type:
Count
Indicator Id:
5653
Topic:
Risk factors
Mortality and burden of disease
Rationale:
Anaemia is highly prevalent globally, disproportionately affecting children and women of reproductive age. Anaemia is associated with poor cognitive and motor development, and work capacity. Among pregnant women, iron deficiency anaemia is also associated with adverse reproductive outcomes such as preterm delivery, low-birth-weight infants, and decreased iron stores for the baby, which may lead to impaired development. Iron deficiency is considered the most common cause of anaemia but there are other nutritional and non-nutritional causes. Blood haemoglobin concentration is used to diagnose anaemia and it is affected by many factors, including altitude (metres above sea level), smoking, trimester of pregnancy, age and sex. When blood haemoglobin concentrations are used in combination with other indicators of iron status, they provide information about the severity of iron deficiency. The prevalence of anaemia in a population can be used to classify the public health significance of the problem.
Definition:
Children aged 6−59 months with a haemoglobin concentration less than 110 g/L, adjusted for altitude.
Method of measurement
The anaemia status is assessed using blood haemoglobin concentrations. Blood haemoglobin concentrations are typically measured in surveys using the direct cyanmethemoglobin method in a laboratory or with a portable, battery-operated, haemoglobin photometer (using the azide-methaemoglobin method) in the field.
M&E Framework:
Outcome
Method of estimation:
Data on the prevalence of anaemia and/or mean haemoglobin in women of reproductive age, collected between 1995 and 2019 were obtained from 408 population-representative data sources from 124 countries worldwide. A Bayesian hierarchical mixture model was used to estimate haemoglobin distributions and systematically address missing data, non-linear time trends, and representativeness of data sources. Full details on data sources are available on the GHO Anaemia page. Full details on statistical methods may be found here: Finucane MM, Paciorek CJ, Stevens GA EM. Semiparametric Bayesian density estimation with disparate data sources: a meta-analysis of global childhood undernutrition. J Am Stat Assoc. 2015;110(511):889–901.
Other possible data sources:
Surveillance systems; All references to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)
Preferred data sources:
Population-based surveys
Unit Multiplier:
1000
Expected frequency of data dissemination:
Every 2-3 years
Expected frequency of data collection:
Data sources are continuously being collected from survey reports and manuscripts and entered into the WHO Micronutrients Database, part of the Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information Systems (VMNIS
Links:
Truncated - A draft framework for the global monitoring of the Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition. Informal Consultation with Member States and UN Agencies on a Proposed Set of Indicators for the Global Monitor
Haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of anaemia and assessment of severity. Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011 (accessed 29 March 2015).
Indicator Metadata Registry List
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