Standing Tall : Peru's Success in Overcoming its Stunting Crisis
2017
Marini, Alessandra | Rokx, Claudia | Gallagher, Paul
Stunting is a silent killer. It deprives a child of its right to grow, to thrive and to prosper. Today, stunting snatches away the opportunity of 156 million children to reach their full potential worldwide. It holds back the development of children, communities and countries. The price of stunting can be measured in cents and centimeters. The inexcusably high rates of childhood stunting in middle-and-low-income countries are one of the most serious threats to humankind that has escaped the world’s attention for far too long. How will countries compete in what will certainly be a more digitalized global economy in the future when one out of four of their children do not have as many neuronal connections in their brains as children in other countries that they must compete with? Peru has shown to the world that the reduction in stunting can be accelerated through a country-wide engagement. And accelerating the reduction in stunting globally is what we need to ensure a bright future for all children. This report details how Peru’s strong political commitment and good policies, coupled with economic growth, were the recipe behind breaking the cycle of poverty perpetuated by stunting. This experience demonstrates that investing in nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child is critical to crack the world’s stunting crisis.
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