Amaneceres Program

Chronic child malnutrition (CCM) irreversibly limits a child's future and is closely linked to realities such as adolescent pregnancy, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty in families and communities. Preventing early pregnancy not only protects the life projects of adolescents but also helps reduce CCM rates, ensuring better development conditions for children. We cannot wait any longer. Investing in the first 1,000 days of life, together with prevention strategies in adolescence, is the most powerful decision a country can make to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty at its roots.

Data confirming this intervention:

CCM:

• The national CCM rate in children under 2 years is 20.1%.
• In Manabí, the condition affects approximately 23% of children under two years old, one of the most critical provinces.
• CCM is higher in indigenous populations and in extreme poverty quintiles.
• The situation has structural impact: it reduces country productivity (4.3% GDP), limits cognitive and educational development long-term.
• Ecuador is among the countries in the region with the highest burden of chronic child malnutrition.

Adolescent Pregnancy:

• In Ecuador, adolescent pregnancy remains a priority issue in public health and rights.
• According to INEC, in 2024 (provisional figures) 14.9% of live births corresponded to mothers aged 10 to 19 years of the total national births.
• The provinces with the highest number of live births in adolescent women are: Guayas, Manabí, Pichincha, Los Ríos, and Esmeraldas.
• The adolescent fertility rate reached 55.5 births per 1,000 adolescents aged 15 to 19 in 2023 in Ecuador.
• Ecuador is above the average for Latin America and the Caribbean (≈51.2 per 1,000) for adolescent fertility rates in South America, behind Venezuela, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Colombia.

Eloy Alfaro Parish:

• According to the 2024-2035 Territorial Development Plan of the Manta Municipal Government, in 2023 there were 298 adolescent births, double that of 2022 (143). Of these, 20 were in girls aged 10 to 14 years. This increase, combined with substance consumption and violence, makes Eloy Alfaro parish a zone of high psychosocial vulnerability, especially for adolescents and youth.
• A study on adolescent pregnancy in Manta revealed serious emotional effects in young women with unintended pregnancies: 56.7% depression, 16.7% sadness, 16.7% loneliness, and 10% loss of desire to live. The report concludes that educational and health strategies are needed to promote responsible sexuality and provide timely psychological and medical support.

The program will be developed in Eloy Alfaro Parish, Manta Canton, and will last approximately 18 months with two lines of action:

• CCM Prevention: More than 60 mothers will receive continuous monitoring to ensure prenatal, pediatric, and nutritional consultations, complemented with monthly group nutritional counseling workshops, delivery of food kits with high protein content, and home visits.
• Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention: More than 350 youth from Paquisha and Emilio Bowen Roggiero educational institutions will participate in "Learning Circles," a methodology that promotes comprehensive sex education with pedagogical and communication materials through youth participation, rights-based approach, prevention through information, and accompaniment.

Educational Units:

• Paquisha Educational Unit
• Emilio Bowen Roggiero Educational Unit (Manta)

• CCM: 60 mothers
• Adolescent pregnancy prevention: More than 350 adolescents aged 13 to 15

REDNI Foundation and the Center for Development and Self-Management – DYA, in alliance with La Fabril, Moderna Alimentos, Corporación Superior, and Ales.

La Fabril, Moderna Alimentos, Corporación Superior, and Ales.