Child height is an important indicator of human capital and human development, in large part because early life health and net nutrition shape both child height and adult economic productivity and health. Between 2005 and 2010, the average height of children under 5 in Cambodia significantly increased. What contributed to this improvement? Recent evidence suggests that exposure to poor sanitation - and specifically to widespread open defecation - can pose a critical threat to child growth. We closely analyze the sanitation height gradient in Cambodia in these two years.

Between 2010 and 2016, Plan Netherlands implemented a CLTS programme in 8 countries in Africa: Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Niger. This programme, although entitled ‘Empowering self-help sanitation of rural and peri-urban communities and schools in Africa’ soon became known as the Pan Africa Programme.

Stunting is a complex and enduring challenge with far-reaching consequences for those affected and society as a whole. To accelerate progress in eliminating stunting, broader efforts are needed that reach beyond the nutrition sector to tackle the underlying determinants of undernutrition. There is growing interest in how water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions might support strategies to reduce stunting in high-burden settings, such as SouthAsia and sub-SaharanAfrica.