About one million children worldwide died before turning five in 2023 due to factors affecting growth, including being underweight, stunted or wasted, with India reporting over 100,000 of these deaths, according to a new study.

Nigeria recorded the highest number of under-five deaths linked to ‘child growth failure’ at 188,000, while the Democratic Republic of Congo ranked third, a step below India, with more than 50,000 deaths, the findings published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal show.

‘Child growth failure’ increases the risks of death and disability from several diseases, including lower respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and measles.

The analysis used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, the latest in the series of assessments that

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