The regional health office in Southern Peru’s Puno region has reported that 27 children under the age of five have died in recent weeks in the department from respiratory infections due to a sharp drop in temperature.
Children in Puno are one of the most vulnerable groups to the cold that hits the region during Peru’s winter. Numerous children regularly die every year as residents lack proper shelter to be protected from the cold, and children are more susceptible to bronchopulmonary diseases because their systems are weakened by cooking smoke within their homes.
The head of Puno’s health office, Jorge Lopez Tejada, said that the government has created a contingency plan to deal with the issue, daily La Republica reported.
“We’ve formed 10 health brigades, three of them from Lima, that are touring the most vulnerable zones of Puno,” Tejada said.
The majority of the deaths (13) have occurred in Puno’s San Roman province. The National Civil Defense Institute and the NGO Solaris has been providing winter clothing to residents.
Is there any way we can help? Can we send winter clothing to San Roman? Who do we need to contact? Thank you~!
How can we help? To get them medicine when they have the cold, asthma, pneumonia. Please let us know!