Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Primeros Pasos

IDB

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Early Education
    • Family and Children
    • Maternity
    • Measurement and Indicator
    • Nutrition and Lactation
    • Policies and Programs
    • Seminars and Courses
  • Authors
  • English
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese

A Project to Address Childhood Malnutrition Through the Use of Data 

September 2, 2024 por María Paz Hermosilla - Nieves Valdés Leave a Comment


The Latin American and Caribbean region faces a severe malnutrition problem, including undernutrition, overweight and obesity: according to the latest FAO report (2023), the prevalence of overweight in children under 5 has increased in the last two decades and the reduction in the prevalence of stunting, which is at 11.5%, has slowed down in recent years. In Chile, this is a pressing problem: according to the Ministry of Health, 22.44% of children under 6 years of age monitored in the public health system have been diagnosed as overweight and 14.06% as obese. 

Child malnutrition is a complex and multidimensional problem, so the search for strategies to address it must consider various aspects, ranging from physical conditions to the socioeconomic context of individuals. This requires quality information on multiple dimensions that is also easily accessible. 

In response to this situation, Chile is implementing the Reduction of Child Malnutrition Project, the first longitudinal repository of integrated data for the study of child malnutrition and to guide public policy decisions in the country. This is a collective effort in which several entities are collaborating, including the Ministry of Health, the National Health Fund (FONASA), the Superintendence of Health, the National Board of School Aid and Scholarships (JUNAEB) and the National Commission for Evaluation and Productivity. 

Currently, the repository contains information from 2012 to 2022, and we are working to update it annually and on a recurring basis. Its construction has not been without difficulties and has already generated several lessons learned. In this blog, we share the most important lessons. 

Integrating Data to Address Malnutrition: Key Questions 

1. Where do the main difficulties in integration arise from? 

The main difficulties arise from legal and administrative barriers, not technological ones. The technological advances available to us that allow the operationalization of a repository such as this one are affordable and relatively easy to adapt. However, its implementation requires legal agreements and the adaptation of administrative processes, which can take considerable time. Raising the objective of reducing child malnutrition has been a good catalyst for these processes. 

2. What are the key data to integrate? 

    Given that child malnutrition is a multidimensional problem, meaningful integration of data from various dimensions, such as nutrition, health, and sociodemographic data, is essential to capturing the complexity of this public health challenge. By putting children at the center, the concurrence of data for their characterization can be greatly enhanced. 

    3. Quality data or quantity data? 

    In the initial development phase of the repository, one of the keys was to make suitable data available, ensuring its reliability and relevance both for research and to support policy formulation. Improving data quality was a fundamental part of the project, so we identified this challenge as a priority for the next phase. Mainstreaming the objective of contributing to the reduction of child malnutrition has served to establish improved data quality as an important requirement for all institutions. 

    4. How to protect the privacy of children and families? 

    Once the data was collected, our focus was on protecting the privacy of individuals. This precaution allowed us to build a robust and ethical data repository. To achieve this, we implemented rigorous data protection and security measures through the adaptation of the “5 Safes” framework, which considers measures such as the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPA) to identify and mitigate potential privacy risks. When making decisions that may affect children’s nutritional and health conditions, these safeguards become essential. Here, there may be a trade-off between the possibilities open to research and the safeguarding of privacy. Undoubtedly, a nominalized basis would broaden the scope of the tool. However, anonymization is part of the repository’s security measures. 

    5. A step-by-step process  

    Generating evidence on the factors that influence child malnutrition is at the basis of decision making to guide appropriate policies. We have yet to learn about the determinants of malnutrition, the economic costs associated with health service utilization, and the impact of specific interventions. That gives meaning to these data integration efforts. 

    Childhood Malnutrition and Data Use: Lessons Learned 

    This project taught us that database integration goes beyond technology: it requires a clear policy objective that calls participating entities to action. In addition, it has been key to work with a deep commitment to privacy protection and clear communication between all parties. 

    Creating an integrated data repository to comprehensively characterize the child population and address malnutrition is a complex but achievable process. By focusing on data quality, safety, and inter-institutional collaboration, we are better prepared to meet this important public health challenge and work towards a healthier future for Chile’s children. 


    Filed Under: Nutrition and Lactation Tagged With: childhood malnutrition, children, date use, early childhood, Early Childhood Development, ECD, family, IDB, Inter American Development Bank, malnutrition

    María Paz Hermosilla

    She is the Director of GobLab UAI, a public innovation lab at the School of Government of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile, whose mission is to contribute to the transformation of the public sector through data science. She holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from New York University and is a lecturer and researcher in ethical data management.

    Nieves Valdés

    She is an Associate Professor at the Business School of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and since 2023 she is the Leader of the Economics Area. She is an Associate Researcher at GobLab UAI, Adjunct Researcher at COES, and member of the editorial board of the Revista Economía y Política.

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Follow Us

    Subscribe

    Search

    Early Childhood Development

    The first years of life are essential to establish the future foundation of a person´s productivity and wellbeing. In this blog, experts from the IDB and thought leaders in the topic, share information and international experiences related to early childhood development. Join us to talk about initiatives implemented in your country in this area

    Similar Posts

      None Found

    Footer

    Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
    facebook
    twitter
    youtube
    youtube
    youtube

      Blog posts written by Bank employees:

      Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


      For blogs written by external parties:

      For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

      The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

      Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



      Privacy Policy

      Derechos de autor © 2025 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

      Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

      Aviso Legal

      Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

      facebook
      twitter
      youtube
      This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
      To learn more about cookies, click here
      X
      Manage consent

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
      Necessary
      Always Enabled
      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
      Non-necessary
      Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
      SAVE & ACCEPT