Alberto Cabezas
Mexico, 28 feb ( EFE).- Latin America should improve the support provided to children in the first thousand days of life with their mothers during the pregnancy to prevent the irreversible problems associated with delayed growth, said today the executive director of Unicef, Anthony Lake.
The report State world of the 2012 children, launched today at Mexico, warns about this situation affecting 48% of children in Guatemala, 29% of them in Haiti and Honduras, 27% of children of Bolivia, 24% of Peruvians and 22% of Nicaraguans.
Lake “Is a global phenomenon in poor countries and in areas most impoverished in much of this region (Latin American),” pointed out in an interview with Efe.
Explained that the problem “comes from malnutrition”, but is different to her as a malnourished child can recover when it is properly fed.
However, those who suffer from deficiencies in nutrition in the womb and in the first two years of life “not only do not grow (in stature)”, but that his brain nor do, noted Lake.
“The result is that the child will never learn both how to others, nor will both win as they, nor will develop their capabilities in the way in which it could have done.” “And that is a huge loss for that child and their society,” emphasized.
The key to avoiding the problem is “the lack of micronutrients” (zinc, vitamin A, certain proteins, among others), support is not expensive to provide, but it is difficult to get to those truly in need.
The American explained that in Mexico the rate of stunting, which affects primarily the poor and indigenous people, reaches 12%. “This is bad, but in global terms it is not so much”, said.
Countries in the world with levels highest incidence are Afghanistan (59%), East Timor, Yemen and Burundi (58% in each case), Ethiopia (51%) and India (48%).
Better that Mexico would be Jamaica (4%), Brazil (7%) and Colombia (13%), and something worse Venezuela (16%). UNICEF offered no Chile, Cuba or Ecuador data in the report.
Another matter of priority for Unicef in Latin America is to improve the “birth registration” that occur before local authorities.
If that is not done, there is a risk that this child can be denied their rights in the future, which hinder their schooling or can prevent it benefiting from social programs, explained Lake.
The third pressing issue for Unicef in the region is the wave of violence, “a tremendous killer of teenagers” in Latin America, he said.
. While some countries are getting reduced their under-five mortality rates, more adolescents are being murdered, especially in urban areas.
“(The case) is related to drugs, but also with other things (…)” “It is a great issue which we must address,” added the executive director of Unicef.
Finally, the last great challenge for Latin American Governments mentioned was immigration in its various dimensions: children left behind when their parents migrate and their struggle to survive, that they migrate without their families or are repatriated alone, or those associated with internal migration towards cities.
This latter circumstance, which particularly affects indigenous people, makes it difficult to “have access to schooling and go to secondary schools, which condemns them to perpetuate in the circle of poverty over and over again”.
Lake, a former adviser to policy outside of the President of United States, Barack Obama, and a member of the Department of State, assumed the leadership of Unicef on May 1, 2010.
Above the head of the UN children’s Fund worked in humanitarian work, he was an adviser to national security of Bill Clinton (1993-1997), director of policy planning of the also former US President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) and Professor at Georgetown University. EFE
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