Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Quito (Agenzia Fides) - The Amazon region and the provinces of Bolivar, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi and Esmeraldas is where the highest percentages of children and adolescents who live in conditions of poverty are concentrated, between 55 and 75%. According to a study carried out jointly by the Social Observatory of Ecuador, Plan International, UNICEF, the National Council for Intergenerational Equality, malnutrition among the indigenous population is 42%. The report, titled Childhood and adolescence in contemporary Ecuador, considers that the phenomenon continues to be very high, although poverty has been reduced, access to health and drinking water and the level of education of the mothers have increased.
Furthermore, it appears that obesity affects 8.5% preschool children, 30% school-age, and 26% adolescents. Regarding education, 16% of adolescents aged between15 to 17 do not attend school. In the past 10 years family violence has increased from 35 to 44%, while in schools 30% of children suffer harsh punishments, beatings and insults. The report shows that between 2004 and 2011 the percentage of births to teenage mothers increased by 3%, rising from 6 to 9%. In 2009, over 60,000 children were born to mothers between the ages of 15 and 19. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 21/10/2014)
