Reducing Anemia and Improving Nutrition in Peru
Peru’s recent economic growth hides unjust social inequalities. Development has by‐passed the remote rural regions, and chronic malnutrition among children is common. These factors are driven by food insecurities, poverty, and inaccessibility to health services. CMMB Peru’s project activities are committed to further reducing malnutrition, anemia, and other determinants of maternal and child morbidity.
CMMB Peru health projects focus on improving the health and nutrition of women, children, and their communities in underserved and marginalized areas including:
- Distrito de Chilca, Provincia de Huancayo, Region Junín
- Distrito La Esperanza, Provincia de Trujillo, Region La Libertad
CMMB’s CHAMPS model, our signature initiative, provides a framework for this work. Community-driven, it reflects the needs implicit in its context—so in Peru, we focus on improving conditions relating to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); improving nutrition; and empowering women and vulnerable families. By building the knowledge base and skills of community health workers, we work toward ensuring access to healthcare for families who would not otherwise have it.
CMMB Peru meets these objectives through the implementation of different projects and activities, including:
- The First 1,000 Days Project
- Support from Bon Secours Sisters and domestic and international volunteers
- Rehabilitation for children with disabilities
The First 1,000 Days Project trains health professionals and community health workers, advises parents on child and family health and nutrition, promotes safe water and sanitation practices, and provides nutritional supplementation to underweight and malnourished children. The project also supports and addresses barriers to economic self‐sufficiency through animal husbandry projects using locally appropriate livestock, including guinea pigs, ducks, and quail eggs.
CHAMPS Peru complements existing community-based programs designed to improve maternal and child health. The initiative expands on and diversifies existing interventions to focus on integrated management of neonatal and child illnesses and prevention and screening for cervical cancer and diabetes, with greater coordination among local social actors.
Rehabilitation with Hope assists children with physical and cognitive disabilities and their vulnerable families by providing much-needed access to quality therapy based on respected World Health Organization protocols. In this post, volunteer Jessica Saenz shares her first-hand experience with the program.
Snapshots from Peru
Peru
Click on the pin icons on the map to discover CMMB's programs and initiatives in Peru.
Improving the Health Conditions of the Most Vulnerable Women and Children in Peru
CMMB believes children deserve a healthy start in life and works to end childhood malnutrition.
In Peru, anemia in children under five is widespread, impacting intellectual and cognitive development. Young children are especially vulnerable to malnutrition. In Huancayo, Luciana suffers from anemia due to a diet with limited protein. Like many three-year-olds, she can be a picky eater. With help from CMMB staff, Luciana’s mother, Maxima, came up with creative and economical ways to incorporate more protein into her daughter’s diet. The best news? Luciana loves her mother’s healthy new recipes. She told us, “My mom makes the best pudding.”
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CMMB believes in healthy pregnancies and works to prevent and treat anemia.
Anemia can seriously impact the health of pregnant women and their unborn children. During her year of training, Luz-Angelica learned about preventing and treating anemia: about which foods are best to provide much needed iron; about the benefits and properties of vegetables; and about the importance of prenatal care. After her training, Luz-Angelica began educating other women in the neighborhood. As a mother of five, Luz-Angelica knows that good nutrition during pregnancy gives babies a head start on life and a better future. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with other mothers.
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CMMB believes that all children should have the opportunity to realize their full potential.
Communities in remote corners of the world often stigmatize children with disabilities, believing the disability to have been caused by witchcraft or demons. Their families may be shunned, and parents may be challenged to find work. CMMB's Rehabilitation with Hope project is working to educate the community of Huancayo to scientific truths, so that more people will understand why children are born with disabilities and how, with proper support, these children have incredible potential to lead fulfilling lives and bring joy to others. To do this, we provide much-needed access to quality therapy. We also support the families. During the COVID-19 lockdown, for instance, after project staff noticed that families were having trouble implementing prescribed therapies, they proposed a spirit-lifting dance contest. Project families choreographed a dance and submitted video of themselves and their children dancing. The learning: Dancing cures the COVID-19 blues.
Kenji, shown at right when he was seven years old, was born with Down Syndrome. His mom, Theresa, appreciated the love and commitment of the CMMB therapy team. Thanks to their work, Kenji learned to walk and talk.
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