Fight Rising Malnutrition in Rural Guatemala

Even before COVID-19, Guatemala had one of the highest rates of childhood stunting in the world. This challenge has exploded as the novel coronavirus has moved into the country. Government precautions--including shutting down public transportation, closing businesses, and enacting days-long curfews--have cut off income sources for many families. Data from the National Information System for Food Security and Nutrition showed that by early June, reports of children experiencing acute malnutrition had spiked to the rate of one every 30 minutes. Action Against Hunger found that the number of people in Guatemala needing emergency food aid doubled. 

In the face of these realities, we have stepped up our efforts to fight child malnutrition, delivering food and supplies to more than 1,000 families and continuing to provide guidance and care to maintain the gains we are making against malnutrition in Guatemala's most vulnerable communities. 

One example is young Tomás, who once was struggling to survive and now is thriving. When Tomás was two months old, his mother was having trouble producing breast milk, he was agitated during feedings, and he was severely underweight. Concerned, his parents reached out to Wuqu’ Kawoq, which had recently begun working in their community of Caserío Sucún in San Andrés Semetabaj, Sololá. 

We sent a community health worker, who consulted with the family to develop a plan to improve Tomás’ nutrition and health. The health worker advised the baby’s mother to drink plenty of water and to do her best to eat a diverse, healthy diet. She suggested the mother space out feedings so that she had enough breast milk and offered guidance on positions to help the  feedings go more smoothly. The Wuqu’ Kawoq team also provided formula and nutritional supplements for Tomás, along with regular monitoring. 

After nine months of working with Wuqu’ Kawoq, breastfeeding has improved, Tomás has reached a normal weight, and his mother has been supplementing his feedings with mashed fruits, vegetables, and beans. “Now he is heavy to hold in my arms," she laughs.

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The situation in Guatemala is changing fast. The number of COVID-19 cases has  increased having by the moment 2,265 confirmed cases , including 45 deaths, these numbers are from the last update of May 20th nationwide.

We are constantly making adjustments so we can continue to provide quality care in our communities. We continue providing telemedicine to thousands of our patients, and we are delivering food and medication to our patients even with the strict curfews and governmental restrictions on travel. We're working together with the Ministry of Health to make sure we are able to reach our patients who most desperately need care.

We’re making it possible for 320 doctors to return to their rural health posts. With COVID-19 advancing, these doctors, interns in their final year at the University of San Carlos, had been pulled from the field because they had no protective equipment. This left hundreds of rural clinics with no doctors. The University approached us for help, and thanks to one of our amazing donors, we will be providing the masks, gloves and other protective equipment required for them to return safely to their posts! They play an essential role in addressing malnutrition and chronic disease, along with responding to COVID-19. These doctors will be located in the poorest, most rural areas of Guatemala, which have been without medical staff for the last four weeks. 

We received funding from Miracles in Action for a joint communication and education campaign to get COVID-19 safety messages out via radio in Mayan languages across Guatemala to people who do not have internet access or phones. We’ll also be preparing messages related to domestic violence and other issues of particular concern during this time. We are working with many partner NGOs and institutions to make this possible.

We’re delivering 900  food aid baskets provided by United Way that will last a family of five for a month. These baskets couldn’t come at a more critical time. As businesses close and work becomes scarce, and all public transportation has been halted for weeks, a rising number of families are struggling to afford food. This will help us sustain the gains we have made in the fight against malnutrition.

As we face mounting challenges, we are so grateful for your ongoing support. Every single donation counts in the face of this enormous challenge.