Guatemala Malnutrition Problem

It is hard to believe that here in the Americas that Malnutrition is a serious problem, but it is. When talking about starving children your first thought goes to Africa. But here in Guatemala the problem of malnutrition has become acute.

 Guatemala is hardly one of the poorest countries in the Americas but according to Unicef almost half of the children of this war torn country are chronically malnourished. In some areas of Guatemala where the population is mostly Mayan the child malnutrition is over 80%. The diet for these families is mostly corn tortillas.

 In my travels through the country side of Guatemala and working and sleeping in villages throughout the highlands I have witnessed hundreds of hungry children and adults. Tortillas are a regular source of food for these families. My wife being a nurse states that a regular diet of this food without a proper balance of fruit, vegetables, and protein will cause permanent damage to these children.

 One afternoon we did physicals to some 100 children in a small school in the highlands outside of Patzun. Every child was malnourished, had bad teeth problems, and dehydrated. Most of the children also were underdeveloped do to the fact of being malnourished.

 As stated in an article printed in the Economist “That points to a failure of government in Guatemala. The Mayan population were the main victims of a long-running civil war between military dictatorships and left-wing guerrillas. Although democracy came, and eventually peace, social conditions have been slow to improve. Income inequality remains extreme, even by Latin American standards. Two-thirds of the rural population remains poor. Guatemala came second to bottom of a new index measuring inequality of opportunity in Latin America published by the World Bank last year. Whereas Guatemala City has shiny shopping malls, gated mansions and trendy restaurants, many indigenous Guatemalans scratch an inadequate living as sharecropping subsistence farmers. “These people were totally abandoned in the mountains with no infrastructure, no education, no health,” says Rafael Espada, the vice-president”.

 Guatemalan people are great people, the Mayan’s have some awesome culture and are loving gracious people.

 We are here to help these people and get the word out about what is happening in our neighboring country.

 Please consider partnering with us to help these children that are caught in between starvation and political power.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Thousands in Guatemala face food shortages, UN says (cbc.ca)
• Food crisis at emergency level in Guatemala (cnn.com)
• Guatemalan army ’stole’ children for adoption (cnn.com)