Nutrition Landscape in the Ecuadorian Amazon

• According to UNICEF, Ecuador has one of the highest rates of undernourishment in Latin America, with 24% of children under the age of 5 have stunted growth.

• Of the wealthiest 20% of children, that percentage drops to 14%. Of the poorest 20% of children, it almost doubles to 37% of children who are malnourished.

• When children experience malnourishment early in life, their bodies learn to conserve fat and energy more than children who do not experience malnourishment early in life. This means that children who experience malnourishment become more vulnerable to obesity and obesity-related illnesses later in life, especially at a time where urbanization and access to nutrient-poor. calorie-dense food is surging.

• Parent’s knowledge is a key indicator of access to healthy diets and stunted growth of children.

• In the Amazon Rainforest, studies show that many parents do not know what a dietary routine is and many children will eat 3 meals a day when “times are good,” and eat less than 3 meals a day when “times are not good”,

Health and wellness is a personal matter that is heavily influenced by the culture and community one comes from. What may be considered healthy, common, or self-care in one community may be taboo in another community. MPI prides itself on its approach to international development and community building with its emphasis on the community and understanding how we as an organization can best support the communities that we work in.

MPI is currently located in the community of Shandia, which is a part of the Amazon Rainforest. Shandia is a 100% Indigenous Kichwa community. Because it is an indigenous community located in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest in the middle of Ecuador, topics of health and wellness are at times treated very differently than they are in other parts of the word.

MPI began operations in this Amazonian community in May, 2023, which means that we are still pretty new to getting to know a new community. We are spending the rest of 2023 and into 2024 prioritizing getting to know the indigenous community of Shandia so that we have a better understanding of what health means to our community.

Currently, we are working with the public health clinic in the community along with cultural and spiritual leaders in the community to understand where the challenges and wants are. With these community stakeholders, our public health volunteers, and local and national leaders in health to develop programming on health and nutrition for youth, reproductive health for teens, water health and sanitation in the zone, and physical fitness and sports in after school programming with kids all with the hopes to implement programming that creates a healthy community.

Learn More About Ecuador →