Stunting Prevalence in Children and Adolescents of Nine Venezuelan Federal Regions

Abstract

Introduction: Stunting due to malnutrition is the result of a chronic shortage of nutrients when children are thriving. Venezuela, due to the political and economic crisis that is suffering, has a food insecurity problem. But there is not official data about stunting or other health related issues. e purpose of this study is to know the prevalence about stunting. Methods: we did a descriptive observational study of the anthropometric evaluation of 16,155 children less than 19 years that attended municipality schools, alimentary centers and health fairs in nine Venezuelan states during the year of 2019. e data were digitally collected by voluntaries previously trained to gather anthropometric measures that worked in the implementing organizations, and it was processed and analyzed by the Digisalud Platform according with the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) anthropometric reference standards. Results: ere was a 20.48% and 12.83% global prevalence of stunting in children less than 5 years and more than 5 respectively. In six of the nine regions studied stunting in children less than 5 years was observed. Conclusion: Although our results are not representative of the Venezuelan population, it shed light to understand this problem. We recommend gathering data in a methodological and standardized way using a technological tool in order to create a reliable database. e analysis and use of this information will generate concrete, measurable and accountable actions for creating the desired impact