A history of colonial exploitation and a development model that concentrates wealth and excludes a large proportion of the population from the development process are the principal determinants of income distribution in Colombia. This work analyzes the extent of malnutrition among the poorest 30% of the Colombian population. The National Plan for Feeding and Nutrition (PAN), an important component of the national development plan, strives to improve the nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups living in rural areas and marginal urban neighborhoods, with particular emphasis on mothers and children. The program initially was focussed on 11 priority regions where 5 types of interventions were developed: primary health care, environmental sanitation, food production, food distribution, and nutrition education. Because of the good results initially obtained, PAN now covers the entire national territory. A 1977 survey stratified by socioeconomic levels indicated that among the poorest 30% of the population, 67% of the children examined had low weight for age caused by a combination of chronic and acute malnutrition. 12% were considered to have severe and 23% moderate malnutrition. 8% had severe and 17% had moderate problems of height for age. 26% had deficient weight for height. Comparison of the data to normal values published by the World Health Organization clearly demonstrates the pattern of overall malnutrition indicated by weight for age figures. It can be concluded at 33% of children in the poorest 30% of the population are normal, 31% have mild malnutrition, 23% moderate malnutrition, and 12% severe malnutrition. Data on height for age indicated that 43% were normal, 32% had mild chronic malnutrition, 17% had moderate chronic malnutrition, and 8% had severe chronic malnutrition. The prevalence of acute malnutrition in the poor population measured by the ratio of weight to height was less than that of chronic or overall malnutrition. 21% were considered to show mild, 4% moderate, and 1% severe acute malnutrition. Nutritional status was greatly influenced by age, with the lowest rates of malnutrition occurring in children under 1. Mortality among children aged 1-2 years probably was responsible for a decline in malnutrition rates in children over 2. Patterns of malnutrition in children of the poorest 30% of the Colombian population were quite similar in the 11 departments included in the 1977 survey. Comparison with earlier data indicates that the nutritional status of children in the poorest population sector has not improved since the 1960s.
Before we begin to weigh the pros and cons of the different types of intrauterine devices now available on the market for clinical use it is worth making some notations with regard to the term availability. Although this term theoretically translates as capable of being used or utilized it does not have the same practical meaning in different regions of the world. Dozens of variables from customs barriers or restrictions in individual countries to the lack of community acceptance of the device make the availability of these contraceptive methods quite different from one group of peoples to another. There is a common variable that affects the availability of a method. It is the information and education the people of a community have received about it before it is introduced on the market and their relationship with the current resource. When the private sector launched a family planning offensive in Colombia based on the Lippes Loop the population increasingly accepted it. (excerpt)
As a result the National Study on Health in Colombia undertaken between 1977 and 1980 gave special priority to nutritional evaluation and managed to give an up-to-date diagnosis of unquestionable value. This study gathered information about the nutritional status of the whole Colombian population. Moreover the comparison of its results with those of a similar study done between 1965 and 1966 (National Morbidity Research) that used similar methodologies for the design of population samples and the collection of data clearly showed the changes which took place during the period of time between the two studies. The preliminary results of the first study (1965-66) were published only in 1969 as part of the monograph Clinical Evidence but for the benefit of the current study all data in the first one was analyzed again utilizing the procedures used in the second one in order to facilitate a proper comparison. This paper describes the anthropometrical evaluation of children under the age of five according to the general results of the latter study (1977-1980) and their comparison to the former one (1965-66). (excerpt)
