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Ecuador   Why children in Ecuador need your helpNearly 70 per cent of Ecuador's 5 million children live in poverty, and malnutrition affects 23 per cent of children under five years. Fifty per cent of child deaths are preventable and there are higher mortality rates for indigenous and afro-Ecuadorian children.
Traditionally a farming country, Ecuador's economy has grown since the 1960s following the discovery of oil. However, Ecuadorians have not all benefited equally from the oil revenues, much of which has gone to the traditionally dominant Spanish-descended elite. The government is now beginning to address social inequality by investing in public health, education, housing, labour and welfare but there is still a long way to go until the gap between rich and poor can be bridged. Country factsEcuador is a democratic republic bordered by Colombia in the north and Peru in the east and south. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific. Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1534, and the country's capital, Quito, has many fine examples of well preserved early colonial architecture. In 1809, the Ecuadorian middle class begin to push for independence, and in 1822 Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated Spanish royalists at the battle of Pichincha. Ecuador became part of independent Gran Colombia, which also encompassed Colombia, Panama and Venezuela, before achieving full independence in 1830.
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It has also been estimated that around 430,000 children
aged between five and 17 years work to help provide an income for
their families, which impacts on their education. Further, equal
educational opportunities aren't offered to indigenous and
afro-Ecuadorian children.
