The Dchild nutrition remains a latent problem in Azuay and in Cuenca. From the Technical Secretariat Ecuador Grows without Child Malnutrition it is argued that the goal is fixed in the reduction of this social phenomenon.
In Cuenca, the 28% of children under two years of age suffer from this problem. And in Azuay, 30.67%. The entity closed with these data in 2022 and, for now, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) is recording this year’s statistics, said Matías Abad, undersecretary of said entity.
On the other hand, according to data from the Cantonal Health Councilthe number of children under 24 months of age diagnosed with chronic malnutrition in the period from January to March 2023 in Azuay, reaches 1,996 cases. To compare the figures, in In Cañar, 903 were counted and in Morona Santiago 1,348.
In total, there are 4,247 minors with feeding problems in the southern region of the country. Only Azuay has 45% of cases.
In January and February 2023, 1,904 boys and girls under 180 days of age were admitted to the Growing Up with Our Children (CNH) services in the canton, out of a total of 3,527 children recruited, which corresponds to 27.50% of a projected 3.89%.
Likewise, in January of this year, 248 boys and girls under 45 days old were admitted to the CNH services in the canton, out of a total of 448 children recruited, corresponding to 55.36% of a projected 1.23%.
However, the first National Survey on Child Malnutrition (ENDI) in Ecuador has already completed the information gathering process, after consulting 24 items. The Secretariat announced that they are waiting for the date of its official publication from the Presidency.
contributions
In Cuenca, from the Intersectoral Technical Table, the implementation of the Ecuador Grows Without Malnutrition Strategy was approved, which came into operation in 2022, according to the elected councilor Gabriela Brito, who chairs this commission until the change of administration this May 15.
Data from the Table indicate that in 2022 there was progress in aspects such as primary care for children under 180 days old, care for pregnant adolescents, among others.
National
Erwin Ronquillo, technical secretary of the Technical Secretariat Ecuador Grows without Child Malnutrition, mentioned that eradicating child malnutrition does not take one or two years, it will take several governments to achieve it.
Official data indicates that 23.1% of children under five years of age in Ecuador have chronic child malnutrition or delayed growth. The figure worsens in rural areas with 28.7%.
With these statistics, the country ranks as the second country in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest prevalence of chronic malnutrition in boys and girls, after Guatemala.
Antecedent
The problem is not recent. In 1986, chronic child malnutrition already registered a high rate, close to 40%, according to the Diagnosis of the Food, Nutritional and Health Situation (DANS). Until 2012, this was reduced to 25% and since then the decrease has been minimal.
So much so that, in 2018, the prevalence was only reduced by two percentage points, despite the interventions carried out in the country. (FCS) – (I)
Agreement for the creation of a secretariat
In July 2021, President Guillermo Lasso created the Technical Secretariat Ecuador Grows Without Child Malnutrition, from where the coordination of concrete actions is attempted to meet an objective: to reduce chronic child malnutrition by six percentage points, to 17.1%, until 2025. With malnutrition in children as a pending problem for most of its countries, Latin America now faces an “emerging debt” given the rise in the figures for overweight and obesity, warned the director of Nutrition and Child Development of Unicef, Victor Aguayo. (YO)
Symptoms of child malnutrition
- Weightloss.
- Extreme paleness.
- Sagging or bulging of the abdomen.
- Protruding cheekbones.
- Memory loss.
- Cold hands and feet.
- slow growth.
- dry skin
- Hair fall.
- Irregular menstruation or disappearance of it.
- Physical exhaustion.
- Loss of muscle mass.
- Brittle nails.
- Extreme thinness and anemia.