Conditions
Conditions Affecting Sick & Vulnerable Children
Roughly 663 million children across the world live in extreme poverty, with minimum or zero access to even the most basic of necessities. In Bolivia alone, the causes of mortality in children under the age of 5 are directly associated with poverty.
Nearly one in three children worldwide live in poverty
385M children are forced to survive on less than $1.90 a day
36% of deaths under the age of 5 occur as a result of diarrheal diseases
28% of deaths under the age of 5 occur as a result of malnutrition
Conditions Affecting Underprivileged Kids
Brain Paralysis
(also known as Cerebral Palsy)
This condition is caused by abnormal development or damage in areas of the brain that control motor activity or muscle tone. Brain paralysis encompasses a variety of disorders, all affecting body movement, balance, and posture.
1 in 323 children are born with brain paralysis, and there are currently around 500,000 children under the age of 18 suffering from the condition.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a condition involving undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), diet-related diseases, and insufficient vitamins or minerals.
Nearly 1 in 3 children in Bolivia under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition, the second highest rate in all of Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, about 45% of deaths in children under the age of 5 are connected to malnutrition.
Childhood Cancer
There are about 300,000 children diagnosed with cancer each year throughout the world, with the most common types being leukemias, brain or other central nervous system tumors, or lymphomas. About 12% of children diagnosed with cancer do not survive, with this number increasing greatly in countries like Bolivia with inadequate medical care
Sexual/Domestic Abuse
1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys suffer from some form of abuse prior to the age of 18. As Bolivia is a very poor country, domestic and sexual abuse rates are very high, and many children suffer from it in their households, leading them to run away from home and live on the streets without anyone to care for them.
