Fight Rising Malnutrition in Rural Guatemala

A lot of our success closing health gaps in rural Guatemala relies on the efforts of our patients and families. We bring the expertise, medical equipment, and nutrients; they contribute the wisdom, dedication, and daily care required to achieve and sustain health.

One inspiring example is Doña Rosa, a mother who worked ferociously to help her daughter Genesis thrive. When we met Genesis three years ago in her village outside of Panajachel, she was weak from malnutrition and a chronic lung disease. Over the years, we partnered closely with Doña Rosa to make sure that Genesis got the care and nutrition she needed to get her lung disease under control and nudge her weight and height to healthy levels. It worked. Genesis, now four years old, has been managing well. Sadly, Doña Reyna, who had dedicated herself to bringing her daughter to good health, died recently from Covid. We are now working with Genesis' aunt so that she will not lose ground.

So far in 2021, our Family-Centered Nutrition Program has benefited 584 children. Partnering with their caregivers, we have helped ensure these children are eating more frequent, nutritious meals and making gains in their weight, height, and development. 

In addition to working hand-in-hand with families, we are working at a systems level to tackle malnutrition throughout Guatemala. We have developed a master class to share the strategies that have enabled us to reduce malnutrition across communities by 40%. These efforts are essential; Guatemala has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world. Together with families and other NGO and government partners, we are committed to changing this reality by expanding the fight to reduce malnutrition and its lifelong consequences across the country.

Thank you for making this lifesaving work possible!

The last several weeks have been especially difficult in Guatemala, with COVID cases surging, hospitals overwhelmed, and vaccination rates still below 3%. The recent ouster of the country’s top anti-corruption prosecutor is fueling mistrust of the government, with the unfortunate side effect of shaking confidence in government issued COVID vaccines. (Which in any case remain scarce.) These fragile conditions continue to take a toll on jobs and make it harder than ever for families to afford and access food. 

To meet these challenges, we are stepping up food deliveries and telemedicine. In addition, our nutrition teams continue to make regular visits to support families of children with chronic malnutrition.

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in the field with some of these remarkable teams. In almost every case, we saw progress from previous visits in terms of weight and height, but in one instance, a young boy named Josué was losing ground because he had diarrhea that left him listless and disinterested in eating. Our tech provided some medication to clear his infection and reviewed hygiene measures with his mom, so hopefully the next visit will show good results!

I was struck by the genuine connections between our team and the families. It was clear that there was mutual respect and that the nutrition techs were offering very welcome and needed advice that made sense in the context of each family's situation. It’s encouraging to see the trust and progress that comes with building relationships with patients over time in their own languages and communities.

Thank you again for making these lifesaving efforts possible! 

Links:

• A hunger crisis forces Guatemalans to choose: migration or death