Peru project 527-0219 · 1979–1987 · health systems, policy and finance · Clapp and Mayne, Inc.

Using a model based on the "functional classification of malnutrition," this report analyzes data collected in Peru's 1984 National Nutrition and Health Survey. Eighteen functional groups from two socioeconomic categories (those directly dependent on agriculture, and all others) were formed, using occupational characteristics of heads of household and agricultural data. The analysis indicates that more than half of the rural households, and many of the urban households, had children whose body size classified them as malnourished or at risk of being malnourished. Approximately 60% of these households were economically dependent on agricultural production and agricultural wage work for their livelihoods. When comparing urban and rural functional groups, it was found that even the worst urban groups were better off than the best rural groups. A major reason for this situation is a policy bias against agriculture and labor, particularly in the highlands. Because of this, the study suggests direct nutritional intervention as the most immediate means to deal with the prevalence of malnutrition. The authors suggest multi-pronged programs as intermediate solutions, with the final r

Source: DEC abstract, PN-AAZ-956 (1987). This is the source's own text, not a cited summary of the documents.