WFP Program in Peru

Reduce the high percentage of anaemia and serious risk of malnutrition experienced by more than 63% of children under two and 33% of children under five in the Ventanilla region, a town near the La Pampilla refinery in Korea. This was the program’s initial goal to promote nutritional food security to reduce anaemia, launched in 2011 by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in collaboration with the Repsol Foundation.

Workshops and training to combat infantile anemia in Peru

Mothers in the Ventanilla region learn to make recipes with low-cost foods with a high iron content.

This initiative aims to improve nutrition and hygiene habits at home and promote the consumption of micronutrients and safe water, which is all focused on mothers of children under five years old and pregnant mothers with scarce resources.

The program’s success was based on the high level of involvement of mothers, who learn to create recipes with low-cost foods with a high iron content. At the same time, they were given the option to train as community advisers and educate other mothers and fathers in their community.

Given the good results obtained, in 2015, the decision was made to renew the partnership for four more years (2016-2020). Two new targets were added: teenagers, who will receive healthy nutrition talks at schools, and entrepreneur women, who will learn to create and sell the same low-cost, nutritional food by themselves. As Isela Yasuda noted, the focus is on “training mothers in business issues so they can sell their products at affordable prices in other markets.” In this way, not only is anaemia reduced among minors, but the community’s economic and social development is reinforced and the project’s sustainability is guaranteed.

Since its launch, more than 1,700 children younger than five years old in more than 3,000 families have benefited from the project, reducing the rate of anemia from 52.6% initially to 29.6%.

“This initiative is sustainable through time as it’s the mother who, with all the information we’ve given them, will spread this knowledge and instill these nutritional and hygienic habits.”

Isela Yasuda, WFP Nutritional Projects Coordinator