From Valledupar on a visit to the Rosario Pumarejo de López Hospital, in verification of cases of malnutrition, the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, said that it is absolutely serious that in 2022 308 boys and girls under 5 years of age have died from causes associated with this disease, 111 more cases than those registered in 2021. In the same way, in the last year the National Institute of Health reports 21,483 cases of early childhood children with acute malnutrition.
According to the latest epidemiological bulletin from the National Institute of Health (INS), La Guajira is the department with the highest number of reported deaths with 85 cases, followed by Chocó with 35, Cesar with 25, Bolívar 24, Magdalena 23, Valle del Cauca 17. , Antioquia 10, Atlántico 10, Meta 10 and Vichada 9.
It is even more worrying that, in relation to the year 2021, in all the departments of the country there was an increase in cases. La Guajira had registered 41 children under 5 years of age killed in 2021, in Magdalena 19, Chocó 17, Cesar 12, Bolívar 9, Antioquia 8, Atlántico 8, Norte de Santander 7, Meta 6 and Nariño 6.
“The above figures are the reports that reach official entities, however, the work of our teams in the territory warns of more serious situations, with a high underreporting of deaths due to malnutrition in territories as far away as in the department of Vichada,” added the Ombudsman.
Precisely, Vichada is the second department with the highest malnutrition mortality rates per 100,000 children under 5 years of age. In first place is La Guajira with 76 cases, Vichada (65), Amazonas (63), Chocó (60), Cesar (19), Magdalena (17), Guainía (15), Arauca (13), Bolívar (12) and Goal (11).
There are factors that directly affect malnutrition: food availability, consumption, access and basic sanitation, conditions that must be fully guaranteed to curb malnutrition in childhood and generate scenarios fully guaranteeing human rights.
It is necessary to note that malnutrition in children under 5 years of age has serious and prolonged implications for cognitive development and growth, and prevents adequate school performance, and hinders the ability to learn, communicate, analyze, socialize, and adapt. Clearly, malnutrition affects the rights to education, decent life and health.
ACUTE MALNUTRITION
The Ombudsman also placed special emphasis on a finding that indicates that the largest number of cases of acute malnutrition, in boys and girls under 5 years of age, have been reported in Bogotá.
“Malnutrition is not only an issue that we must address in remote territories, but in the capital of the country itself, all entities must be mobilized to prevent this difficult affectation against early childhood,” said Carlos Camargo.
Of the 21,483 cases of acute malnutrition reported by the INS as of December 31, 2022, 4,089 cases were registered in Bogotá, that is, 19.0%. In second place is the department of La Guajira with 1,954 cases and in third place Antioquia with 1,951 cases.
REITERATED CALL TO THE INSTITUTIONS
The Ombudsman reiterates to the Ministry of Health the call to continue working on the monitoring, identification, management and comprehensive care of cases of malnutrition in early childhood, in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 2350 of 2020, by which it is adopted the technical guidelines for the comprehensive management of care for moderate and severe acute malnutrition, in children from zero to 59 months of age.
“We also call on the national government, the governorates and municipalities to ensure and provide the full enjoyment of adequate food in their territory, this implies that physical and economic access to food in adequate quantity and quality must be guaranteed, to lead a healthy life and thus guarantee the rights of early childhood”, concluded Carlos Camargo.