Fill the Nutrient Gap analysis presents new evidence to combat the negative impact of malnutrition

The analysis will provide a framework for future actions to model interventions that could mitigate unaffordability of nutritious diets. The Kyrgyz Republic continues to face a complex challenge in improving nutrition among the public. Although stunting rates have decreased from 18 percent to 7 percent between 2012 and 2021, the percentage of children and adults suffering from overweight and obesity and associated non-communicable diseases have increased dramatically and micronutrient deficiencies continue to remain.

Nutrition is a crucial pillar in the development of a healthy and productive human-capital and nation. Good nutrition enhances physical and cognitive development, prevents diseases, and increases the potential of the workforce and society. Improving diets, especially of children and women, brings immediate and long-term health, education and economic benefits. Improving the nutrition situation in a country requires coordinated actions across the agriculture, social protection, health and education systems that are grounded in a good understanding of the local context and a synthesis of global and local evidence. 

The FNG analysis is designed to help identify where opportunities to improve access to nutritious diets exist. By convening stakeholders from across sectors, the Government will have the opportunity to identify how food systems can be strengthened to support nutrition, and which interventions should be prioritized to enable households to access nutritious diets.  

According to the results of the FNG analysis nutrient-adequate diets cost three times more than diets that meet only energy needs, the average daily cost of an energy-only diet for the five-person household was 107 KGS while a nutritious diet for the same household was nearly 3 times higher at 296 KGS per day. Poor diets are contributing to all forms of malnutrition in the Kyrgyz Republic. There is no single solution to improving nutrition outcomes; hence, combining nutrition-sensitive interventions with social protection programmes can contribute towards closing a household’s affordability gap. The analysis also recommends to strengthen the school feeding programme through clear guidelines and regulations around nutritional content of school meals, while also advocating for increased government financing and expanding school feeding programmes to additional age groups, such as pre-school children.

For more information about the project and WFP please contact: Almaz Tchoroev, WFP/Bishkek, Tel: +996 312 660033, Mobile: +996 550 577 597, email: almaz.tchoroev@wfp.org

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

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