Latin America
Poverty affects some Latin American people more than others. Indigenous people who live in rural areas experience poverty that’s much worse than poor people living in cities.
High in the rural mountains, it’s hard to grow food because the weather is very unreliable. Many of my friends go to bed hungry every night.
Sixteen percent of people in Ecuador are living on less than $1 a day.
Alpaca
Someone herding alpaca
Because people living in rural communities are very poor, they can’t get the medicine they need or see a doctor when they’re sick. This is especially dangerous for children. In Ecuador, an indigenous baby is more than twice as likely to die before they turn five than a non-indigenous baby.
Causes of child mortality in Latin America:
- Health problems at birth that wouldn’t happen if a doctor or nurse were present.
- Rural indigenous kids are often malnourished, which makes it easier for them to get sick.