A scoping review of the forms of malnutrition and intervention strategies to address malnutrition among children aged 0–59 months in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Malnutrition, particularly among children under five years of age, remains one of the main public health concerns in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This article reviewed the empirical literature on the forms of child malnutrition, as measured by anthropometric indicators, and on intervention strategies to address malnutrition among children under five years of age in SSA. Guided by PRISMA-ScR protocols, Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus were used to identify peer-reviewed articles that examined child malnutrition among children under five years of age in SSA. The eligibility criteria included peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 2015 and 2025 that focused on malnutrition among children under five years in SSA, while excluding other types of literature, populations, regions, or older studies to ensure a rigorous and manageable analysis. Google Scholar was used for a snowball literature search. The initial search in Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus returned 1,747 results. By the end of the screening process, 50 articles that met the eligibility criteria were included for review. Findings revealed that undernutrition (stunting, wasting and underweight) was highly reported in the reviewed literature. The prevalence of stunting was reported to highly affect most African countries, with more than 25% of children aged under five years stunted in most countries of SSA. Overweight was reported in only two studies, suggesting that the problem has received less attention. Intervention strategies were grouped into nutrition-specific approaches, such as supplementation, therapeutic foods and infant and young child feeding, breastfeeding support; nutrition-sensitive approaches such as agriculture-related interventions, WASH, disease prevention, cash transfers and maternal education; and integrated approaches combining direct nutrition support with action on underlying determinants. Nutrition-specific and integrated interventions consistently improved growth and feeding outcomes, whereas nutrition-sensitive interventions mainly enhanced household food security and care practices, with variable effects on anthropometry. The study concludes that no single intervention can effectively address child malnutrition. The study underscores that a comprehensive intervention that integrates immediate nutritional support with underlying socio-economic and environmental interventions, supported by strong policy commitment and community engagement, is crucial to addressing malnutrition among children under five in SSA.