Argentina Crisis Leaves Millions of Children Undernourished

Catholic Relief Services
Monday, 17 March 2003

As many as one fourth of all Argentinean children under the age of five are undernourished, and some face the risk of starvation, according to Caritas Argentina, the social services agency of the Catholic Church in Argentina. World Health Organization standards for daily caloric intake are unmet for nearly 40 percent of Argentinean children under 18, and for up to half in the poorer northeast region of the country. Even in the comparatively wealthy capital city Buenos Aires, at least 19 children have died of malnutrition in recent months. The traditionally prosperous nation's ongoing economic crisis has also left the most vulnerable members of society with life-threatening medical needs unattended.

To coordinate a US response, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has announced it will be channeling both emergency relief and long-term aid in a collaborative agreement with Caritas Argentina called In Solidarity with Argentina.

"CRS is helping connect US citizens and Argentineans living in the US with the people who are suffering the most from the humanitarian crisis in Argentina," said Jed Hoffman, CRS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "In collaboration with our sister organization Caritas Argentina, CRS is joining with all those of good will in the US who are expressing a desire to help, to channel aid directly to those who are most in need."

CRS will be supporting the work of Caritas Argentina as it provides emergency services, distribution of medicines, social services, and after-school and tutoring programs to help poor children stay in school.

"Even though medicines are available in Argentina, the economic crisis has put them out of reach of the poorer segments of the population," said Bill Farrand, CRS country manager for Argentina.

Sonia Spasiuk, Director of Caritas Merlo Moreno, said the need for medicines is so acute that local hospitals send patients to Caritas to fill their prescriptions. "Sometimes, these medicines can literally make the difference between life or death for a family," said Spasiuk.

Argentineans living in the US have been contacting Caritas Argentina to offer assistance to their countrymen since the onset of the crisis in 2001. Donations to Caritas Argentina, which is networked to more than 4,000 church parishes in Argentina, doubled from 2001-2002.

CRS had originally provided temporary relief aid to Argentina during the economic crises of the late 1950's, and provided some aid to poorer regions in the mid 1960's, but In Solidarity with Argentina represents the first time CRS has opened official relief and development programs in partnership with Caritas Argentina.

For more information, or to contact Catholic Relief Services, see their website at: www.catholicrelief.org