Nepal has made progress in the battle against iodine and vitamin deficiencies. According to the Nepal Micronutrient Survey (NMSS) 1998 involving 15,000 households, iodine deficiency disorder, that retards cognitive development in children, is close to being eliminated. Similarly, Vitamin A deficiency, which decreases a child's ability to battle illnesses, has almost disappeared from pre-school children.

But the NMSS also highlights a new problem: 68 percent of women (75 percent of pregnant women) and 78 percent of preschool children have severe anaemia. Anaemia in pregnant women causes birth complications that lead to the delivery of low birth-weight children. The highest prevalence of anaemia-88 percent-was in children between 6-23 months, a critical period of growth and development. It means that Nepali children are born with low iron stores, and do not receive enough iron in complementary foods.