Bhutan

Guided by the national concept of “gross national happiness”, the small Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has achieved rapid economic growth and a reduction in extreme poverty levels over the last decade. Investments in health and education and a peaceful transition to a democratic constitutional monarchy have resulted in a reduction in poverty from 23.2 percent to 8.2 percent during this time.

The Government has expressed its firm commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. However, the impacts of climate change are expected to lead to more frequent and intense disasters that threaten to reverse Bhutan’s progress to date. The majority of the population depend on the agricultural sector to survive, and protecting the country’s food and nutrition sector is an important step towards reaching Zero Hunger across the country.

Malnutrition levels have substantially reduced in recent years. Stunting of children under 5 has decreased from 33.5 percent in 2010 to 21 percent in 2015. Anaemia remains a severe public health issue and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 44 percent of children under 5 and one in three adolescent girls are anaemic. Health problems related to a lack of balanced diets and lifestyle changes continue to pose challenges to the achievement of SDG2, and non-communicable diseases account for 70 percent of the reported disease burden across all age groups.