Baby Moisés, a survivor from a home with multiple vulnerabilities
Through the Community Epidemiological Monitoring Strategy, UNICEF and Ecuadorian NGO Desarrollo y Autogestión (DyA) work for the well-being of the most vulnerable children in Ecuador.
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Moisés rests in the arms of his grandmother Rosmelia, who watches him with joy. Two months ago, his situation was very different. At the mere age of two, he was admitted to the hospital emergency room due to acute malnutrition that put his life at risk.
"I gave him medicine and he didn’t get better. All the food I gave him he rejected. He started with a severe rash in his private parts and with sores in his mouth. I didn't know what to do seeing that he wasn’t improving," recalls Rosmelia de la Cruz Briones, Moisés’ grandmother, who lives with her children and grandchildren in Monte Sinaí, one of the most vulnerable areas of Guayaquil.
Not being breastfed during his first months of life was one of the causes of acute grade III malnutrition in Moisés. Rosmelia has had to take on the upbringing not only of Moisés but of her other children and grandchildren. "Ever since I became widowed, it's been very difficult to maintain the household. We have a lot of needs," Grandma says.
Seeing that Rosmelia’s youngest grandson's health was getting worse every day, one of her neighbors put her in touch with Yioconda Pincay, one of Monte Sinaí’s community health monitors who is responsible for monitoring the health and well-being of the inhabitants of the sector.
When Yioconda visited Rosmelia's home, she immediately advised that Moisés needed medical attention and notified health promoter Gladys Pupiales of the Development and Self-Management Foundation (DyA), a UNICEF Ecuador partner organization, which implements the community epidemiological monitoring program in Mount Sinaí.
Moisés arrived at the hospital with an uncertain prognosis. Acute malnutrition and the rashes on his body had put his life at risk.
As the days passed, Moisés responded to the medications and gradually improved his health. His grandmother accompanied him day and night in the hospital. "When Moisés was discharged it was one of the happiest days. He's a strong child and a warrior," Grandma says excitedly.
"The child progressed and is already at home with his family. We continue to do health checks to make sure he doesn't have any further effects after his malnutrition," says the community health monitor.
The lack of a protective environment
In homes with poverty like Moisés’, children do not always have access to fundamental rights such as health, education, and survival.
When Yioconda and Gladys visited this family, they also identified that school-age children were not enrolled in the education system; and the little ones did not have their vaccine cards nor had they completed their vaccine schedules: two fundamental aspects for exercising the right to identity, health and other rights and opportunities.
In addition, two of the teenage girls in Moisés’ family are mothers and had never had access to counseling or contraception.
This situation changed thanks to the comprehensive support of DyA and UNICEF, which, in addition to following up on the case of malnutrition in Moisés, also included obtaining birth certificates for the children and completing their vaccination schedules. The two adolescent mothers also had access to counseling, family planning methods and HIV tests.
While waiting to enter the education system, children receive accompaniment from DyA to study in learning workbooks according to their educational level.
Nadya, 17, one of the teens in the family, says being a mother at an early age involves overcoming many challenges. However, she still dreams of being a lawyer in order to give her daughter a future and to help the people who need it most. "I have received help and am very grateful. I would one day like to give this support back to society, but I know that to achieve that I have to study and succeed."
Health brigades in Mount Sinaí
DyA, with support from UNICEF and in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health, conducts health brigades to promote the health of children under the age of five. These brigades include activities such as assessment of hemoglobin values to identify cases of anemia, measurement of weight and height, provision of micronutrients, counseling in parenting practices for caregivers, COVID-19 prevention talks and sampling for PCR tests.
"Community leaders and health monitors play a key role in these brigades because they are in contact with the community, they ensure the attendance of children with their caregivers to these activities and identify the principal needs of each child in Monte Sinaí," concludes Dr. María Dolores Campoverde, DyA Health Project Coordinator.
