Guatemala Malnutrition
The Cha Choc family, standing next to son Ronaldo's grave, has lost three children to malnutrition in the past few years.
According to a USAID report, G�uatemala continues to have the highest rate of chronic malnutrition (49% nationally) in this hemisphere, higher than many countries in Africa. The United Nations reports that 23% of Guatemalan children under age 5 are underweight and one in two children under age 5 are stunted." Although it is not the poorest country in the region, Guatemala is the sixth hungriest nation in the world.
A multi-year drought, combined with a collapse in the world-wide coffee market several years ago, which was a major agricultural employer, and a steep rise in the cost of corn is causing am increasing food crisis, particularly for children, who are always more vulnerable to illness and disease. The worst cases are in the eastern regions, where many indigenous Mayans live secluded in small, mountainous villages. Although some relief agencies are venturing into the hills to deliver desperately needed food, thousands remain hungry. There is one sector near Zacapa where doctors say at least 15 children are near death and 1,000 children could be equally bad within a few months. Another report from the World Food Program states that in the eastern part of the country nearly 60,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, with 6,000 close to death.
