Growing Up Healthy, Growing Up with Dignity

From El Alto to Cochabamba, the Simón I. Patiño Foundation carries out hands-on work to improve the health of children aged 0 to 5. Medical care, nutrition, psychological support, social work and preventive actions are all combined to provide holistic care grounded in family realities. A demanding and humane approach designed to give every child a real chance to grow up safe.

Child health that goes beyond clinical care

In Bolivia, many children grow up in vulnerable conditions. In El Alto and Cochabamba, the Simón I. Patiño Foundation has set up two specialised centres to offer them more than just medical care: a holistic support system that integrates nutrition, psychology, social work, education and prevention. This approach aims to empower families, prevent relapses and restore the foundations for dignified, long-term development.

Accessible and specialised medical care

The Cochabamba centre receives sick children for structured paediatric follow-up. The nutrition centre in El Alto supports children aged 0 to 5 suffering from malnutrition, sometimes in cases of abandonment. Each child benefits from a full diagnosis, low-cost consultations and free vaccinations. These centres address a real need: making healthcare accessible to those most often excluded from it.

An individualised nutritional approach

In El Alto, cases of malnutrition are addressed with care and rigour. Following a nutritional assessment, children receive appropriate meals, sometimes requiring hospital stays of several weeks. At the same time, families are trained in preventive practices and the preparation of balanced meals using local ingredients. This strategy tackles malnutrition at its root—within its social and educational context.

Supporting families to support children

Malnutrition or childhood illness is often linked to multiple vulnerabilities: poverty, isolation, family instability. This is why both centres systematically involve parents in the care process. Social workers support complex cases, while psychologists provide guidance to help restore emotional bonds and trust. The child is never cared for in isolation.

Preventing relapses through post-hospital follow-up

After being discharged, children continue to be monitored at home for two years. This crucial step ensures stability in their progress and enables quick intervention if problems arise. The team regularly visits families to observe living conditions, adjust practices and maintain an active connection. This continuity is one of the key pillars of the Patiño method.

Health rooted in the community

These initiatives go beyond the centres: they reach into neighbourhoods, schools and local institutions. Awareness workshops, vaccination campaigns and prevention actions all contribute to building a shared culture of health. The Foundation does not act from above, but through close and constant dialogue with families, networks and communities. To grow up healthy is to grow together.