Bebés en riesgo vital: EPS retrasan alimentos médicos y niños con alergia grave pasan semanas sin poder comer
En Colombia, cientos de bebés y niños pequeños con una condición médica grave están enfrentando una situación crítica: no están recibiendo a tiempo los alimentos especiales que necesitan para vivir.
TL;DR
- Babies and young children in Colombia with Cow's Milk Protein Allergy (APLV) are facing critical delays in receiving specialized medical nutrition.
- APLV requires special nutrition (Alimentos con Propósitos Médicos Especiales - APME) because conventional milk is harmful.
- Families are experiencing prolonged delays, incomplete deliveries, and denials from EPS, despite medical prescriptions.
- Dr. Juan Pablo Riveros warns that delays of over 20-30 days pose a vital risk to these children.
- APLV is a severe immune reaction where the body attacks milk proteins, potentially affecting multiple systems and causing fatal anaphylaxis.
- Consequences of delayed treatment include growth retardation, low weight, cognitive impairment, and risk of fatal anaphylaxis.
- Anecdotal evidence highlights cases of children going months without necessary nutrition, leading to ICU admissions, stalled growth, severe malnutrition, and developmental delays.
- Between July 2024 and June 2025, over 1,120 complaints were filed regarding access barriers to nutritional treatment for APLV patients.
- The main failures reported include denial of delivery (35.9%), lack of timely authorization (34.2%), late or incomplete delivery (25.5%), and denial of authorization (4.5%).