Nutrition Problems in Peru
Peru is a country on the Western side of South America. It has three very different geographic locations: the coast, the mountains, and the jungle. Due to these varied climates it is very difficult to sustain agriculture and feed the country appropriately. Here are the main reasons resulting in malnutrition in Peru:
-Lack of Education and Income
Although education is provided fro children 7-16 years of age in Peru for free, it is not mandatory that the children attend school. This results in an adult literacy rate in Peru of 10.1% (Peru Education). The lack of education in Peru results in limited job options for the poor and they are forced to work by selling products in the markets, or other low paying jobs. Because women are uneducated they also are uninformed about nutrition and don't have the knowledge about the food groups, what nutrients are, or how to properly feed their families.
-Lack of Agricultural variety
In the Incan times the Andes Mountain region of Peru was the only vastly lived in area, due to the not ideal but availability of agriculture growth In order to farm on the cliffs of the mountains the Incan's built terraces that ran down the sides of their mountain residences (Natural). This caused several problems because they were trying to grow crops at several different altitudes and temperatures. They developed the structure of Moray which is located in a mountainous valley and continues 100 feet into the earth in concave terraces of circles. Each terrace represented a different climate temperate layer. This caused a limited agricultural diet of poatoes, rice, corn, and other grains that were able to grow abundantly on the mountain sides. Today, these are the main products still being grown today. This also aids the lack of education issue because since the women aren't aware of healthy eating, they just purchase what is available.
-Lack of government aid in outlying communities
Government ignorance has been a major struggle in Peru for years. The government focuses mainly on the populated, dense, cities and sometimes ignores the outlying communities. In the past few years major efforts have been put into place to help these outlying regions, except for two branches of the government. The Minsa was formed to aid pregnant women and young mothers and the Municipalidad is a health office/data collection placed in several outlying areas. Together the two branches will run a “Centro de Vigilancias” which is a health center that will provide meals, counseling, checkups, and nutrition workshops for pregnant women and mothers. The staff at the Centro de Vigilancias also makes house visits to encourage mothers to attend their clinic, or cater to their needs if they are too embarrassed to attend. This is an important stride for the Peruvian government to help its more underprivileged residents (Peru Government).
References
Peru Education , Education in Peru. (n.d.). Maps of the World. Retrieved September 18, 2013, from http://www.mapsofworld.com/peru/education/
Natural regions of Peru." Infotravelperu.com - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. <http://www.infotravelperu.com/english/region
Cueva, Tatiana . Personal interview. 13 July 2013.