Environmental health and growth inequality

The indigenous girls and boys of Ecuador regularly attend school, have a nearby health centre and good vital perspectives for a long life (close to the national average of 73.5 years), but show greater rates of retarded growth.

Between 2009 and 2015, 25% of under 5s in Ecuador have retarded growth by size, with important differences between the poorer settlements (20% of Ecuadorians, including the majority of indigenous people, where 37% of children are affected)  and the richer ones (which make up 14% of the country’s population and where the rate is 20%).