Peru achieved the greatest reduction in chronic child malnutrition in Latin America between 2005 and 2016, dropping from 28% to 13%, said Alberto Rodriguez, World Bank Director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
"This has been the biggest fall in Latin America, both in percentage points and in the overall percentage [...]," Rodriguez underlined.
"When we paid attention to
Peru's chronic malnutrition rates and noticed they started to fall at
rapid pace from 2005 to 2016, we realized we had a story to tell," he was quoted as saying by RPP radio and TV news station.
According to the report, Peru has found a recipe for successfully
reducing chronic malnutrition to give its children and the country a better future.
What was Peru's recipe and what were the crucial ingredients?
1. Establishing political commitment, cooperation and coordination
What is remarkable about Peru is the fact that four successive governments under Presidents Alejandro Toledo, Alan Garcia, Ollanta Humala and now Pedro Pablo Kuczynski have ensured continuity and commitment in the push to reduce child stunting.
2. Smarter policies: focus on evidence, incentives and results
After spending millions of dollars on ineffective feeding programs, Peru was careful to only spend money on tried-and-tested methods, so-called "evidence-based interventions," that had already improved nutrition and children's health.
The government looked at the global evidence of what caused stunting and sought out proven ways to reduce stunting rates. It prioritized investments in areas of higher stunting, with a focus on results.
3. Changing behavior
For political commitment and smarter policies to make a lasting impact, parents had to be educated and empowered. In addition, they needed the government to provide health and social services to ensure their children grew at a healthy rate.
A superb communications strategy led by NGOs, the government and international partners created widespread understanding and awareness about the devastating impact of chronic malnutrition.
(END) MDV/JJN/RMB/MVB
Published: 12/11/2017