Bolivia is South America’s poorest country. In the countryside, poverty is widespread and deeply entrenched, particularly among the nation’s indigenous people, who constitute the majority.
Geography is a large reason for the extreme poverty in the country. Many of the country’s roads are rugged and not developed, making it difficult for farmers to transport their wares to the markets in more urban areas. This of course, negatively impacts their families and the communities in which they live.
This disparity between urban and rural Bolivians is one of the reasons Meds4Kidz is focused on providing medicine and medical care to children in inaccessible rural areas.
Bolivia has one of the world’s widest survival gaps between the rich and the poor, with poor children suffering the brunt of it.
About 60% of Bolivians live below the national poverty line. The percentage is higher in rural areas, where three out of four people live in poverty.
Malnutrition is crippling Bolivia, with close to five million citizens unable to fulfill even the most basic requirements. Malnutrition poses the greatest risk to pregnant women and young children, and in Bolivia, it is these groups that malnutrition unfortunately hits the hardest.
According to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, the causes of mortality in children under five years old are directly associated with poverty.