Among the initiatives of the IDB Cities Lab, a now widely spread documentary has circulated a provocative phrase: "Your zip code affects your health more than your genetic code." But what does that mean? A zip code is a number assigned to identify and locate a given geographical area. The genetic code is the set of information and rules that determine cell reproduction. How can … [Read more...] about Healthier children, in healthier cities
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The Challenge of Integrating Early Childhood Services with Caribbean Health Systems
Initial results from an innovative parenting program in Jamaica showed that it benefited children's cognitive development and parents’ attitudes about caring for children. However, evaluations in subsequent years found that these effects had disappeared. In this post, we present an early childhood program that is incorporated into the country’s health system, as well as the … [Read more...] about The Challenge of Integrating Early Childhood Services with Caribbean Health Systems
Protecting the Mental Health of Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic (and beyond). Communication is Key.
Against a backdrop of almost 13 million cases of COVID-19, an urgent global priority must be the mental health of children, who make up 42% of our world’s population. Children have witnessed the devastating rates of infection and death, restrictions on their day to day life, and preoccupation of their parents and communities about the implications of the pandemic. So … [Read more...] about Protecting the Mental Health of Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic (and beyond). Communication is Key.
Puppets that Teach Good Eating Habits
by Julia Johannsen and Michiko Tamashiro In District 8 of El Alto, Bolivia, 21% of children between the ages of 0 and 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to an IDB study to be published in 2015. This is not the case for Edysson and Joycy, who are enjoying a happy and healthy childhood in the same predominantly Aymara, socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood … [Read more...] about Puppets that Teach Good Eating Habits
Fewer children are dying
By Mario Sánchez. Congenital heart disease leads to serious disabilities and greatly reduces the life expectancy of the girls and boys who are born with it. In 2008, nearly a quarter of deaths of children under age one in Argentina were due to this "hard to treat" pathology. However, surgical treatments could have prevented many of these deaths, if the children had received … [Read more...] about Fewer children are dying