Many Poor Children in Ecuador Suffer from Malnutrition
2022-12-14
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1Erwin Ronquillo, an official with the government program Ecuador Grows Without Malnutrition, is worried about hunger in his country.
2Ronquillo said child malnutrition is chronic among Ecuador's population.
3It is seen everywhere, but hits hardest in rural areas and among the country's Native peoples, he said.
4The United Nations children's agency UNICEF keeps information related to children and their development for countries around the world.
5UNICEF information suggests that one in three Ecuadorian children suffers from malnutrition.
6Of those, about 41 percent are Native.
7Neiri Espinosa is a mother whose partner left her.
8She lives in a neighborhood of the capital city, Quito, called Pisulí.
9She said her children, who are eight and four years old, do not usually eat meat.
10Both children appear to be younger because of their height and the thinness of the youngest girl.
11Sometimes the family buys chicken, but not often, Espinosa said.
12"It is difficult to get any job (as a domestic worker), worse after the pandemic," she said.
13Monica Cabrera is with the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion.
14She works in the Camal Metropolitano neighborhood on the southern edge of Quito.
15It is a high-risk area.
16Cabrera has been robbed several times there.
17She visits the homes of at least 25 young mothers.
18Two of the mothers are minors: 15 and 17 years old.
19Her job is to support the group of mothers while they are pregnant until their children reach one year of age.
20Cabrera said the poorest people in the city are usually Native migrants from rural areas.
21They try to earn a living by selling waste materials, making building materials, or selling products on the streets.
22"Those who have more have the luxury of eating twice a day," Cabrera said.
23She said she knows of families that eat only once a day and sometimes not even that.
24UNICEF's numbers suggest that 50 percent of Ecuadorian households with children had difficulty getting the necessary food in 2021 because of the pandemic.
25As a result, 27 percent of children had their development affected because of chronic malnutrition, the agency said.
26In addition, 72 percent of children lacked basic services for development, such as health and education, UNICEF said.
27Ecuador's government is led by President Guillermo Lasso, a former banker.
28The government has pledged to fight chronic malnutrition.
29It has promised to spend $350 million a year to improve health, family, education, and support services.
30Tania Herrara lives with her parents and has a baby, Sara Milena.
31Herrara receives a $50 monthly stipend from the government to support the baby.
32To receive that money, she promised to join all child support activities that she is asked to attend.
33Her parents currently support the family.
34They earn between $5 and $7 a day.
35That amount must feed five adults. It also must serve to support the new arrival.
36The adults hope to eat something twice a day.
37The family has lived in Quito for several years.
38They can only pay for chicken meat from time to time. The baby is breastfed.
39I'm Caty Weaver.