Gregoria Hernandez, 23, sits next to her seven-moth-old daughter Sonia, who according to her has diarrhoea and is underweight, while resting on a bed in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 16, 2019. "I feel like the worst of mothers, because I don't have a way to help them, to give them what they need, the food they need," said Hernandez. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
BARQUISIMETO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Last August, Francys Rivero, an unemployed single mother of four, feared for her baby's life. Two months after his birth, even though she was breastfeeding him regularly, Kenai de Jesus wasn't gaining weight.
"I feel like my heart is breaking," Rivero, 32, told Reuters in an interview here in the capital of the western Venezuelan state of Lara. "I don't know what's wrong with my son."
Jose Maria, 6, who is underweight for his age and has been diagnosed with malnutrition according to his mother Rosa Rojas, takes a bath outside his house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 9, 2019. "Very ugly, it's an ugly life," says Rojas, as she describes how complicated it is to find wood for cooking, and how much they are affected by power cuts and the lack of water. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
She tried repeatedly to see nutritionists, but failed. One didn't show up, another required a month-long wait. Desperate, Rivero attended a charity event offering checkups and information for families of children with nutritional problems.
At the event, organized by Caritas, the Catholic aid organization, doctors performed a check-up. With donations from the charity, and financial assistance from siblings now living abroad, Rivero began supplementing her breast milk with baby formula.
Within weeks, Kenai rebounded. By December, he reached an acceptable weight for his age. But Rivero, like many enduring a recession now in its sixth year, fears she could once again find herself short of the money needed to keep him healthy.
Adelaida Marquez, 25, carries her 15-month-old son Javier, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, at the house of her sister-in-law where they are staying whilst they receive medical treatment in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 15, 2019. When Marquez saw her son Javier showing signs of malnourishment, a local hospital told her to give him tea made from boiled herbs and to keep him hydrated. He continued to lose weight. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
"How am I going to afford such expensive food?" she asks.
Venezuela's economic crisis is taking a crippling toll on the country's children, who face a growing risk of malnutrition as basic food is increasingly out of reach for many families. The public health system, notoriously short of medicine and other standard supplies, is unable to provide much succor, and aid groups struggle to bridge the gap.
President Nicolas Maduro, increasingly a global pariah for undermining democracy and overseeing the country's economic collapse, blames the crisis and food shortages on U.S. sanctions meant to force him from power.
FILE PHOTO: Yinmari Colmenares, 9, who is underweight for her age according to her mother, eats an arepa at her house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 9, 2019. "Sometimes she says: Mama I'm hungry, my stomach burns. That makes me sick," said Dulce Colmenares. "It's hard; sometimes when I don't have anything, I try to communicate with my sister so she can help me," she explained in tears, while talking about how difficult it is not to have enough food. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
The leader, also accused of overseeing widespread human-rights abuses and turning a blind eye to suffering across the once-prosperous country, often says foreign media and global aid organizations exaggerate Venezuela's problems.
A lack of proper nutrition is stunting growth, diminishing cognitive development and causing physical and emotional trauma among hundreds of thousands of young Venezuelans. As a result, doctors and other health experts argue, Venezuela faces a generation of young people who will never meet their full physical or mental potential.
Between 2013 and 2018, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, 13% of the country's children suffered from malnutrition. Caritas, in a recent study conducted in five Venezuelan states and the capital, Caracas, found that 16% of children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition and that nearly twice as many suffer from low growth rates for their age.
Rosa Rojas and her son Jose Maria, 6, who according to her is underweight for his age and has been diagnosed with malnutrition, pose for a picture at their house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 8, 2019. "I have felt bad, because I have not been able to give them as much as I would like." "It's very hard for me," said Rojas describing how she has felt since two of her children were diagnosed with malnutrition. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Although the United Nations and other agencies import some food and nutritional aid, it isn't enough for Venezuela's needs and the assistance doesn't always get where it is most required. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has raised just a third of the $222.7 million it sought for Venezuela for the second half of 2019, according to official U.N. data.
"A population suffering from malnutrition implies we are going to have adults with less physical and intellectual potential," said Raquel Mendoza, a nutritionist at Mapani, an aid group in Barquisimeto that helps poor families diagnose and treat malnourished children. "We're going to see a regression in the development of the country because human resources are diminished."
Venezuela's Information Ministry, responsible for government communications including those of the Health Ministry, didn't respond to requests for comment.
Split peas soak in a plastic bowl at Blanca Naveda's house, who says at least two of her three sons are underweight for their age, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
The ministry's 2016 annual report, the last one it published, celebrated advances in nutrition since the 1980s and said child malnutrition "has stopped being a public health problem."
For those without enough to eat, the problem is very real.
Rosa Rojas, a 32-year-old widow and mother of six, relies on rice and other carbohydrates to keep her kids fed. Rare is the day they get three full meals. "We just eat twice," she said.
Francys Rivero holds her two-month old son Kenai, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, while they wait for Kenai to receive tests at a clinic in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Gregoria Hernandez, a 23-year-old homemaker, recently hospitalized two young sons, Pastor and Josue Suarez, because they were malnourished. Shortly after their release, Sonia, her 7-month-old daughter, needed similar medical help.
"I feel like the worst of mothers," Hernandez told Reuters. "I don't have a way to help them, to give them what they need."
Sometimes, families are torn between competing needs.
Pastor, 3, and Josue, 4, both of whom have been hospitalised in the past for malnutrition according to their mother Gregoria Hernandez, walk outside their house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 28, 2019. "They have not gone to bed without eating, but when I have food for the night I do not have anything to give them in the day" said Hernandez, while explaining the availability of food at home for her children. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
Deina Alvarez, a 6-year-old student and aspiring gymnast, is underweight and receiving nutritional supplements from a local charity. Although her parents both work, they don't earn enough to fill a grocery cart and buy the medicines they both need as epileptics.
"Either we pay for medicine or we pay for food," said Diana Rodriguez, Deina's mother.
Adelaida Marquez, 25, serves ready-to-use therapeutic food to her 15-month-old son Javier, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, at the house of her sister-in-law where they are staying whilst receiving medical treatment in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 17, 2019. "I was afraid he was going to die," said Marquez. Her son later recovered thanks to ready-to-use therapeutic food, known as RUTF, a packaged food that has been delivered to Venezuela by U.N. children's agency UNICEF. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
(Additional reporting by Luc Cohen in Caracas. Editing by Paulo Prada)
Jose Maria, 6, who is underweight for his age and has been diagnosed with malnutrition according to his mother Rosa Rojas, watches a neighbour play a video game at his house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 15, 2019. "This week I didn't have anything to give them, we spent a week without food, I couldn't find how to give them. A lady came and sent me a half kilo of rice. My dad gave me (food) last night and I gave them sweet rice to feed them, because it is hard for me, sometimes I don't have anything, sometimes I do," said Rojas. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Sonia, seven moths old, who has diarrhoea and is underweight according to her mother, rests on a bed after bathing at her house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela August 16, 2019. "She weighed 6 kilos and now weighs 5, she lost a kilo." "Due to diarrhoea, she lost a kilo, what worries me is that she could also end up in a hospital," said Gregoria Hernandez, Sonia's mother, who has previously had two other children hospitalised for malnutrition. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Francys Rivero holds her two-month-old son Kenai, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, while they wait to be seen at a special event for children with nutritional problems, organized by Catholic relief agency Caritas, at a church in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Gregoria Hernandez feeds pasta and rice for lunch to her daughter Sonia, who was hospitalised a couple of months ago for malnutrition, at their house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 28, 2019. When Sonia's vital signs began slipping, Hernandez boarded an ambulance where medics struggled to find a vein in Sonia's emaciated body to intravenously hydrate her. "I thought she was going to die in that ambulance," said Hernandez. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Francys Rivero carries her son Kenai who is two months old and has been diagnosed with malnutrition, while they wait to be seen at a special event for children with nutritional problems, organised by Catholic relief agency Caritas, at a church in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Adelaida Marquez, 25, carries her 15-month-old son Javier, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, as her husband Javier Liendo, 29, tends to a fire cooking a meal at his sister's house, where they are staying to receive medical treatment in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 16, 2019. "Before, they had everything. They ate three times a day, they ate chicken, meat, eggs, they drank juices - things we can't do now," said Marquez, explaining the food she can provide for her children. "With the current situation, we can barely eat." REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. Zuleidi Hernandez carries her seven-month-old niece Sonia, who has diarrhoea and is underweight, according to her mother, outside her house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela August 16, 2019. "They have not gone to bed without eating, but when I have food for the night I do not have anything to give them in the day," said Gregoria Hernandez, Sonia's mother, while explaining the availability of food at home for her children. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Francys Rivero holds her two-month-old son Kenai, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, while he receives a blood test at a clinic in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 14, 2019. "Right now you eat what you find, so we don't always have everything in the house to be able to have a balanced meal," Said Rivero. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Community members prepare soup for free distribution for people attending a special event for children with nutritional problems, organised by Catholic relief agency Caritas, at a church in Barquisimeto, Venezuela August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Pastor, 3, and Josue, 4, both of whom have been hospitalised in the past for malnutrition, according to their mother, bathe next to their brother Duglas, 5, outside their house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela November 28, 2019. "They have not gone to bed without eating, but when I have food for the night I do not have anything to give them in the day," said their mother, Gregoria Hernandez, while explaining the availability of food at home for her children. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Jose Maria, 6, who is underweight for his age, and has been diagnosed with malnutrition according to his mother Rosa Rojas, rests next to a CLAP box, outside of his house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 8, 2019. CLAP is a Venezuelan government program which provides basic food at subsidized prices. "Very ugly, it's an ugly life," says Rojas, as she describes how complicated it is to find wood for cooking, and how much they are affected by power cuts and the lack of water. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Francys Rivero holds her five-month-old son Kenai, who recovered from malnutrition, while talking to her sons Collins, 11, and Enmanuel, 2, outside their home in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 27, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. Jose Maria, 6, who is underweight for his age and has been diagnosed with malnutrition according to his mother Rosa Rojas, plays with marbles outside his house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 16, 2019. "It has been very difficult for me. Sometimes I have the money to buy them a kilo of rice, sometimes it is too expensive. We just eat twice (a day)," said Rojas, speaking about the availability of food in her home. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Johanna Mendoza, 36, holds her 18-month-old daughter Johanny, who is recovering from malnutrition, while waiting to be checked at the non-profit organization Mapani in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 7, 2019. "The doctor told me that my girl was malnourished, and she also had a serious bacterial infection, that if she didn't receive treatment in time, she could die," Mendoza said. She also mentioned that they visited a public hospital several times and Johanny was never correctly diagnosed, "They only checked her and said she had a bacteria in her mouth." Mapani is a nutrition-focused non-profit organisation. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Francys Rivero breastfeeds her two-month old son Kenai, who has been diagnosed with malnutrition, while she talks to a doctor during a special event for children with nutritional problems, organised by Catholic relief agency Caritas, at a church in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Pastor Suarez, 3, who was hospitalised a few months before for being malnourished according to his mother, touches available food displayed on a bed for a photo at his house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Sonia Suarez who is 10-months-old and recovering after being hospitalised for malnutrition according to her mother, rests on a bed at her house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Deina Alvarez, 6, who is underweight for her age according to her mother Diana Rodriguez, and is undergoing treatment for malnutrition at the non-profit organization Mapani, draws a picture at her house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 27, 2019. Rodriguez says the family provides Deina and her brother Anderson simple meals like rice and beans each day. But that often requires that she and her husband sacrifice their epilepsy medication, meaning they can't leave their homes out of fear of suffering a seizure on the street. "Either we pay for medicine or we pay for food," said Rodriguez. Mapani provides consultations with nutritionists and doctors and emergency services for critically malnourished children, and tracks children's progress to keep them from slipping back. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Sorelys Almao, 43, breastfeeds her sixteen-month-old daughter Gibellys, who has had trouble gaining weight according to her, while posing for a picture at their house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 9, 2019. Almao said that lately it has been very difficult for the family to provide Gibellys with a balanced diet, "I haven't eaten it for a while" she said when asked when they last ate meat. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Jose Maria, 6, who is underweight for his age and has been diagnosed with malnutrition according to his mother Rosa Rojas, stands on a chair after bathing at his house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 9, 2019. "I wish my children didn't want for anything, not food, not anything. Sometimes water is difficult for us, sometimes I don't have water and I have to ask for it, it's very difficult. We don't have cooking gas, we're constantly looking for firewood," said Rojas. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. Mist travels through a slum in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Jose Maria, 6, who is underweight for his age, and has been diagnosed as malnourished according to his mother, stands between sisters Rosibel, 5, and Rosa Maria, 13, and their dog Shakira, while they wait for Rosa Rojas, their mother, outside the house of a neighbour in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 29, 2019. Nutrition is an indisputable problem in the home of Rojas. The 32-year-old mother of six lives with four of her children in a wood and zinc shack without running water in a poor neighbourhood in Barquisimeto. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.Deina Alvarez, 6, who is underweight for her age according to her mother, Diana Rodriguez, and is undergoing treatment for malnutrition at the non-profit organisation Mapani, plays with Venezuelan bolivar notes that have been made worthless by hyperinflation, at her house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela November 27, 2019. "There are days when I say 'My god, what do I do?' We are not in a position to give (the kids) what they need, but that's no longer in our hands," said Rodriguez. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "VENEZUELA MALNUTRITION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.
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