A spatial assessment of anemia among Peruvian children aged 6 months to 5 years between 2016 and 2017

摘要

One of the sustainable development goals agreed by the United Nations general assembly is to end malnutrition in all its forms. A condition product of malnutrition which affects many young children worldwide is anemia. In this paper, the spatial distribution of the prevalences of anemia at a district level among Peruvian children aged 6 months to 5 years in 2016 and 2017 was studied. Using a geographic information system (GIS) software, maps were produced showing the prevalences of anemia at a district level. From these maps, a decline of the prevalences of childhood anemia could be identified in the southern regions of the highlands (Puno, Cusco, Arequipa and Apurimac). The coastal region of Lambayeque has also seen an improvement in regards to this blood condition. Additionally, to observe clustering and outliers of the prevalences of anemia, the local Moran's Index was used. The maps of the hot spots and outliers revealed an increment of hot spots in the regions of La Libertad, Ancash and Madre de Dios. On the other hand it was observed that the number of hot spots in the central and southern regions of the highlands decreased and the outliers increased. Hence it is suggested that health institutions in Peru implement urgently additional programs to the ones existing to target first the hot spots and low-high outliers. For instance, in Chile a program that provided iron-fortified milk has proven to be quite successful at reducing the prevalence of anemia in children aged 11 to 18 months.