Micronutrient deficiencies

Although there is very little available information on the figures for micronutrient deficiencies, it is estimated that the most prevalent ones are iron, vitamin A, zinc, vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitamin D deficiencies. In fact, it is believed that at least 56% of children under the age of five suffer from deficiencies in iron, zinc, or vitamin A, and that 69% of women of reproductive age (non-pregnant) suffer from iron, zinc, and folic acid deficiencies.

These deficiencies constitute a major public health issue, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. For example, anemia affects more than one-third of the world’s children and pregnant women. It results from diets lacking in iron or vitamin B12, habits that reduce their absorption, and diseases such as malaria. Likewise, vitamin A deficiency weakens the immune system and is the leading global cause of preventable blindness in children. Finally, zinc deficiency has significant effects related to stunted child growth and an increased risk of illness and infection.

Although much less common, in humanitarian contexts there are still cases and outbreaks of micronutrient deficiencies that, in wealthy countries, seem like a thing of the past. Examples include scurvy (vitamin C deficiency), pellagra (vitamin B3 or niacin deficiency), and beriberi (vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency).

For example, in 2017, there was an outbreak with 45 cases of scurvy among young people from South Sudan who had taken refuge in Kenya. Despite receiving partial food assistance and cash transfers to help diversify their diets, they used this economic aid to purchase calorie-dense foods. This supplemented the rations they received, which were insufficient. However, they consumed very few foods rich in vitamin C.

Pellagra is rare and typically occurs in populations that consume almost exclusively corn or individuals with chronic alcohol consumption. However, in the 1990s, it was also identified among displaced populations in Malawi, Nepal, and Angola. Causes included the reduction of niacin-rich foods in food aid rations or the distribution of spoiled food that had lost most of its nutritional value.

There have also been relatively recent cases of beriberi among refugee populations in Thailand, undocumented migrants from Myanmar detained in Malaysia (with a very poor diet in detention), and Rohingya refugees in Indonesia after a long journey by sea.