More than 34% of Venezuelan children under five are malnourished
Recently, Dr. Huniades Urbina Medina, Secretary of the National Academy of Medicine in Venezuela, discussed with AID FOR AIDS the results of a 2021 study of malnutrition in children in Venezuela, whose data were collected in 2020. He stated that, since the year 2016, in Venezuela no official data is known but this study was sponsored by Caritas and UNICEF.
“Children under five years of age have global acute malnutrition of 14.4%. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that when it exceeds 10%, it is an alert. To this, we must add that 20% of children are at risk of some type of malnutrition, of which 24% are children under five and 49% of the global figure are under two years of age.”
This study was carried out in 12 states of the country, including Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, which is the one with the largest number of malnourished people and the most serious.
“We already have a generation that lost 4 to 6 centimeters in height. The worst thing is not that but, due to malnutrition, their brain did not grow or did not make synaptic connections. In addition to being skinny and short, he will be cognitively limited (…) We are concerned that the man of the future will not have his full capacity due to this malnutrition.”
In addition, Dr. Urbina Medina reported that the life expectancy of Venezuelans was shortened by three years: “We have the health of the Venezuelan people like 50 years ago. We are seeing that, according to the National Survey of Living Conditions (ENCOVI), there are 45% of adults who skip a meal for children, 60% do not eat meat and eggs.”
This situation causes alarm to organizations that collaborate with vulnerable people such as AID FOR AIDS. That is why the country director, Lupe Aguais, explained that since 2016 infant formulas have been delivered to mothers who cannot breastfeed their babies for various reasons.
“This confirms that the work of AID FOR AIDS and AID FOR LIFE through the Healing Venezuela program, providing infant formulas to ensure the cognitive development of babies, is more important than ever and we invite everyone to join” .
Thousands of babies and mothers have benefited from this program, which is why these campaigns remain active not only in Venezuela but throughout the continent. Monetary donations can be made by visiting the AID FOR AIDS website and clicking here, and to learn more about the program visit here and follow us on Instagram @aidforaidsve.
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