Global Humanitaria, in coordination with the Secretariat of Food and Nutrition Security (SESAN), supported the health post of the El Caoba community in the delivery of fortified complementary food to malnourished or at-risk boys and girls , provided by the program “Great National Crusade for Nutrition” of the Government of Guatemala.
These are foods made from an enriched mixture of corn, soy and milk fortified with vitamins and minerals, which provide the necessary nutrients for optimal growth and development. These supplements are incorporated into the diet of girls and boys from 6 to 24 months, complementing breastfeeding and are added to children under 5 years of age who are malnourished or at risk of suffering from it, in order to counteract the lack of nutrients. .
The nursing staff at the El Caoba health center (with support from SESAN and Global Humanitaria) are in charge of carrying out weight and height checks on children from 0 to 24 months to determine the clinical conditions that the infants present and contrast them, according to the parameters used by specialized personnel. After data collection, 4 bags of 1.5k per infant are delivered to their families, who are explained how to properly prepare the supplement, emphasizing that it is a complementary food and cannot replace vegetables on its own in the their children’s diet.
The coordination between government agencies and Global Humanitaria for this action has the main objective of stopping child malnutrition in families living in poverty, preventing it and avoiding, as far as possible, its conversion into acute or chronic malnutrition, with the serious consequences that it entails. have for the comprehensive development of childhood.
With the same purpose of combating child malnutrition, Global Humanitaria has delivered 4,236 portions of highly nutritious food to 353 primary school children in El Caoba, Poptún and Quebrada Seca. These supplements contain vitamins and minerals such as calcium, zinc and potassium; proteins, carbohydrates and good fats. that help optimal development of boys and girls in the growth stage.
Guatemala is the sixth nation with the highest rate of child malnutrition in the world and the first in Latin America. In rural communities, where the majority of the population is of Mayan origin, chronic malnutrition affects more than 50% of the child population. Poverty and lack of access to education are the cause and effect of the nutritional problems that increased with the pandemic. A recent ODAHG report on the state of children’s rights in the country reports that chronic malnutrition has worsened in the last 25 years. That, sexual abuse, forced labor and other conditions cause children to emigrate from the country .
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