End Infant and Child Malnutrition in Guatemala

Several months ago, stay-at-home mother Catarina Raxuleu could not afford to feed her family of six. She had deep concerns for the nutritional needs of her four children. Her husband, a coffee farm worker, made only $3.25 a day and Catarina was unable to provide a second income as she had to care for the children. They struggled every day just to feed their growing family.

With WFP’s support, Catarina began eating Vitacereal™ when she was pregnant with the most recent addition to her family, Pasqual. Vitacereal™ is a fortified blend of maize, soy, and micronutrients provided by WFP to pregnant and nursing mothers in Guatemala, as well as to children from the ages of 6 months to 3 years. Vitacereal™ is locally produced and is specifically designed to increase birth weight, facilitate normal physical growth and development, and help provide a foundation for a healthy life. "There [was] a big difference between my pregnancies," says Catarina. "Pasqual was a healthy weight when he was born, and I am definitely producing more breast milk than before." Today, Catarina continues to serve Vitacereal™ to Pasqual twice a day.

Guatemala is one of the most food insecure countries in Latin America, threatened by extreme weather conditions and more than three decades of civil unrest. Almost 57 percent of its population lives under the poverty line. While this dire situation affects all aspects of society, women and children tend to suffer the most. Mothers are increasingly unable to provide much needed food to their young children and often cannot breastfeed their infants due to malnutrition. As a result, almost 50 percent of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition, which is the highest rate in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In response to this crisis, WFP is providing Vitacereal™ to 120,000 children and 40,000 pregnant and nursing mothers in Guatemala. This food assistance helps children avoid irreparable physical and mental damage that can result from malnutrition during pregnancy and infancy.

Currently, WFP is working to expand the program to thousands more people but needs the financial support to do so. Individual contributions such as yours have made a powerful impact on WFPs ability to assist those in Guatemala who need it the most. It is only through this aid that Friends of the World Food Program can provide so much financial assistance to WFP to continue to achieve its goals for 2008. Thank you for your generous support!