The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected children’s nutrition through various disruptions that would have changed the relative importance of determinants of children’s undernutrition. This article attempts to provide empirical estimates for how the relative importance of key determinants of child undernutrition has changed post-pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on child undernutrition, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (Headey et al 2020). With the pandemic causing disruptions in agricultural supply chains, many families struggled to access adequate food. Further, pandemic-induced job losses and subsequent declines in incomes exacerbated the affordability of nutritious diets. Finally, there was reduced access to social protection programmes, such as cash transfers and food assistance, which can help prevent undernutrition in children. With schools closed, children, especially those from marginal households, have missed out on school meals, which can be a vital source of nutrition. Hence, children from low-income families are particularly vulnerable to undernutrition.

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