By Javier Basadre | Head of social programmes
High in the Cordillera Blanca, in the rural communities of the Callejón de Huaylas, childhood anemia has long been a silent crisis, one that steals a child's energy, memory, and future before they even start school. Nationally, more than 44% of children in Peru's rural highlands suffer from anemia, a statistic that has barely moved in years despite government efforts.
At Misión Huascarán, we've taken a different approach: instead of treating anemia as a distant statistic, we treat it as a problem to solve household by household. We give out breadbuns fortified with iron to eliminate anemia to over 700 people, mainly kids, daily. Our community health workers walk the same paths as the families they serve, visiting homes in Andean communities to screen children, teach caregivers about iron-rich foods using what's already available locally, and follow up consistently, not just once, but through the full cycle of growth and recovery.
The results speak for themselves. In the communities where we work, anemia rates among children have dropped to just 9%, less than a quarter of the rural national average. That's not a coincidence; it's the outcome of sustained, personal, community-based care.
Behind that number are real children who are now running, learning, and thriving instead of falling behind. And behind that progress are donors like you, whose support makes it possible for our team to keep showing up, month after month, in villages that larger health systems often struggle to reach.
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By Javier Basadre | Head of Social Projects
By Javier Basadre | Head of social programmes
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