Chronic Malnutrition among Children under Five in Peru: A Spatial Analysis of Nutritional Data, 2010-2016

OBJECTIVE: Peru has implemented various strategies seeking to improve nutritional indicators in children under five years old. However, high prevalence of malnutrition in some regions still remains. The aim of this study was to assess changes in regional prevalence and to determine the presence of district conglomerates with a high prevalence of chronic childhood malnutrition (CCM) in 2010 and 2016.

METHODS: A comparative descriptive analysis by regions and a district-level spatial analysis were conducted employing indicators reported by the Nutritional Status Information System.

RESULTS: 23.9% (561.090/2.343.806) children under five years evaluated in Peru during 2010 and 18.0% (394.049/2.193.268) evaluated during 2016 were chronic malnutrition (reduction of 5.9 percentage points). We identified a decline of 7.6 percent points in rural areas and the persistence of prevalence above 30% in only one region (Huancavelica). The spatial analysis identified clusters of districts with high prevalence in 20% (379/1834) of Peruvian districts in 2010, and 17.2% (316/1834) of those in 2016, which are mainly spread across the sierra and jungle regions. .

CONCLUSIONS: Peru has made significant progress in reducing stunting in children. Nevertheless, it still represents a health problem due to high prevalence in the sierra region, as well as expansion to jungle districts in 2016.