Anaemia aff ects a quarter of the global population, including 293 million (47%) children younger than 5 years and
468 million (30%) non-pregnant women. In addition to anaemia’s adverse health consequences, the economic eff ect
of anaemia on human capital results in the loss of billions of dollars annually. In this paper, we review the
epidemiology, clinical assessment, pathophysiology, and consequences of anaemia in low-income and middleincome countries. Our analysis shows that anaemia is disproportionately concentrated in low socioeconomic groups,
