Table 1.

National under 5 mortality rates and selected indicators of nutritional status among children less than 5 years of age in six Sahel countries†

Country	MDG 4.1. < 5 years mortality/1000 live births (1)	Stunting (%) ‡	MDG 1.8. under‐weight (%) ‡	Exclusive breastfeeding <6 months (%)	Complementary feeding at 6–9 months ¶ (%)	Anaemia (<110 g/L haemoglobin) (%)	Vitamin A deficiency* (%)	Iodine deficiency disorder § (% goitre)
Burkina Faso a	188	45	37	8	50	83	46	29
Chad b	191	45	34	2	68	76	45	24
Mali c	191	39	28	38	30	81	47	42
Mauritania d	122	29	23	11	40	74	17	21
Niger e	198	55	40	14	78	84	41	20
Senegal f	121	20	15	34	69	83	61	23
Cut off indicative of public health problem**		≥20	≥10	Rating of ‘good’ is ≥50	Rating of ‘good’ is ≥80 (2)	≥5	≥20	≥5

^a Data from (5) except for anaemia, vitamin A deficiency and iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) (4);

^b Data from (6), except for except for anaemia, vitamin A deficiency and IDD (4);

^c Data from (7), except for vitamin A deficiency and IDD (4);

^d Data from (8), except for anaemia, vitamin A deficiency and IDD (4),

^e Data from (9), except for vitamin A deficiency and IDD (4),

^f Data from (10), except for vitamin A deficiency and IDD (4).

^* Rates reported depend on data collection methods and proximity in time to supplementation programmes (4).

^{† †} Sudan was not included due to the political conflicts that hindered on‐site data collection and analyses.

^‡ Anthropometric data reflect the new WHO Growth Reference Standards, as reported in the WHO Global Database (3). Stunting is defined as <−2 SD of the WHO standard for height‐for‐age and underweight is defined as <−2 SD for weight‐for‐age.

^{§ §} Goitre rate.

^¶ % of infants 6–9 months of age who received complementary foods in addition to breast milk and/or other liquids in the 24 h prior to the survey.

^** Values in shaded cells indicate at least mild level of public health significance 2, 4 according to listed cut‐offs.