End Infant and Child Malnutrition in Guatemala

Summary

The World Food Program (WFP) works alongside the Guatemalan government to provide food to rural areas where almost half of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

The World Food Program will assist 373,000 children and lactating and pregnant women in Guatemala's most vulnerable regions over a span of three years. Due to enormous social disparities, extreme poverty mainly affects the indigenous population living in environmentally deteriorated rural areas. WFP specifically targets expecting mothers to ensure the proper nutrition of infants and children and to ultimately break the vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.

How will this project solve this problem?

This project addresses the underlying causes of chronic malnutrition in infants and children, including the limited access to adequate amounts of food. The program helps improve health practices by both nourishing and educating expecting mothers.

Potential Long Term Impact

The operation aims to improve basic social and productive infrastructure by preventing child malnutrition and providing proper nutrition to expecting mothers in the target areas.

Project Message

Food, nutrition and health are basic human rights, without which there is little likelihood of total inclusion in society.
- Pedro Medrano Rojas, WFP Regional Director for Latin America

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources