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FROM THE FIELD

CWS situation report: Guatemala food crisis
05 Oct 2009 17:10:00 GMT
 Source: Church World Service
Website: Website: http://www.churchworldservice.org

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When food is short, children often go hungry. In areas where CWS partners are teaching locally adapted agricultural techniques, children can grow and thrive.
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When food is short, children often go hungry. In areas where CWS partners are teaching locally adapted agricultural techniques, children can grow and thrive.
Photo: CIEDEG

Background

•  Food and hunger

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October 5, 2009

The effects of climate change and climate variability in Guatemala have caused low rainfall in some areas -- precipitating water shortages for drinking and irrigation.

Situation: The effects of climate change and climate variability in Guatemala have caused low rainfall in some areas -- precipitating water shortages for drinking and irrigation. In other areas, however, there is increased precipitation, which can also adversely affect food production. Rising prices for fuel and the cost of growing food have all also contributed to causing a food crisis in many villages in Guatemala.

This prompted the nation's Executive Council of Ministers to declare on Sept. 7 a state of public "calamity" throughout Guatemala.

Specifics: a so-called "dry corridor" -- comprising the departments of El Progreso, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Santa Rosa, Zacapa, Chiquimula, Alta Verapaz -- is at particular risk. The national Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security (SESAN) estimates that the food crisis has placed 38 communities at very high risk and 651 others at high risk. According to Action by Churches Together, it is estimated that more than 54,500 families, or more than 327,000 people, face an immediate risk of food and nutrition insecurity.

More specifically, in the district of Baja Verapaz 14,000 families are affected by the food crisis. In the district of Jalapa, 18 children are reported to have died from lack of food, 110 children have acute malnutrition and 1,192 children have been admitted to the hospital. In August, there have been 22 cases of severe malnutrition at the national hospital and 24 cases in private hospitals.

On a recent field visit to the district of Chiquimula, ACT members and CWS partners identified that the first crops of maize and beans carried very low yields. Due to heavy rains, parts of the crops planted were lost and any crops planted late yielded low harvests. According to respondents, yields vary between 30-50 percent of what is commonly produced. These estimates are consistent with data provided by the Bethania Clinic, a local group that works with ACT members, and community development committees.

SESAN is in the process of implementing a support program with funds from the international community, comprising three components: food assistance, production and productive infrastructure and storage.

On September 22, the World Food Program began the distribution of 20 tons of biscuits in 164 communities affected by the famine. However, the government indicated that while the support provided is significant, this will not be sufficient given the magnitude of need and duration of food insecurity.

CWS Response: CWS is supporting the work of its ACT member partners; an ACT Guatemala Forum has begun gathering information on the needs and applying for additional funds from key partners of member agencies. The major aim is to identify specific needs of vulnerable groups and to define the response the ACT forum may extend to complement existing initiatives.

The CWS partners work in the area of Jocotan and Camotan department of Chiquimula, specifically for the care of malnourished children. The ACT forum coordinates its activities with the Humanitarian Response Network -- UN organizations and international NGOs working in Guatemala.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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