Evolution of chronic malnutrition in children under five in Peru

Abstract

Child chronic malnutrition is one of the main problems of Public Health in Peru, according to WHO’s reference values, national prevalence is 19.5% in children under five. Child chronic malnutrition has a negative impact on people throughout their lives, limits the development of society and hinders poverty eradication. To attain the goal of reducing chronic malnutrition in children to 10% by 2016, the Peruvian government will continue to strengthen, mainly, the efficient use of economic resources, the assessment of interventions, the implementation of investigations that help define causal relations and provide information for the design of public policies, health capacity building and the articulation of different government levels. This article goes over the main interventions implemented in the country.