Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Despite significant progress in addressing respiratory infections, diarrhea, and child mortality over the past 30 years, the estimated health burden of dietary imbalances in Mongolia ranks among the highest globally. We sought understand the burden of malnutrition in Mongolia by synthesizing available information on ecological determinants of nutrition status (agriculture and food supply), proximal determinants (diet and nutrition-related lifestyle factors), biochemical, functional, and anthropometric indictors of nutrition status, and nutrition programs and policies in order to guide future research and interventions. METHODS: We conducted a narrative review of malnutrition in Mongolia by searching numerous online databases for relevant research articles, survey reports, and statistics. We supported this review by searching Mongolian national policy documents and tabulating their inclusion of FAO key recommendations for improving nutrition through agriculture and food systems. RESULTS: Historic geographic and climatologic extremes, compounded by rapid urbanization, globalization of the food market, and increases in sedentary lifestyles in recent decades have contributed to a widespread and severe double burden of micronutrient deficiencies and metabolic disease in Mongolia. Despite continued governmental support for nutrition, program priorities have not been clearly defined and food security has generally been conflated with nutrition, resulting in a lack of effective nutrition-sensitive initiatives. Formidable challenges to programmatic action remain, especially in recruiting nutrition professionals and funding. CONCLUSIONS: Broadly, future efforts should prioritize institutional capacity building, training and recruitment of nutrition personnel, and developing systems for collecting and applying nutrition and health surveillance data in Mongolia. An initial assessment of current and projected capacity requirements for promotion of cross-sector nutrition initiatives would be beneficial. FUNDING SOURCES: None.