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Story Publication logo June 26, 2014

Guatemala: Hungry for Change

Country:

Guatemala

Authors:

Hari Sreenivasan
Grantee

Jason Kane
Grantee

English

In Guatemala, an effort is underway to reverse a stubborn trend: about 50 percent of children are so...

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In the western highlands of Guatemala, more than 70 percent of children in some communities are so malnourished that their physical and mental growth is “stunted.” At 21 months, Lidia Chumil is nearly 4 pounds lighter and 3 inches shorter than the recommended average for children her age. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

The PBS NewsHour traveled to the western highlands of Guatemala with journalist Roger Thurow, who has been conducting research on malnutrition in Uganda, India, Guatemala and the United States for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. At 6’3’’, Thurow towers over the Chumil family. It was long-assumed Mayans were simply shorter than other ethnic groups, but researchers now believe malnutrition plays a major role. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour Guatemala, 2014..

Hari Sreenivasan of the PBS NewsHour takes a close look at Lidia’s growth chart with Roger Thurow of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Ana Alonzo of Save the Children. Lidia’s weight took a noticeable dive during the months when she was suffering from chronic diarrhea. Poor sanitation and contaminated water often thwart efforts to keep children well-nourished in their first years of life, leading to a renewed emphasis on good hygiene and safe water in many Guatemalan communities. Image by Jason Kane/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Long-term studies show that well-nourished ethnic Mayans in other parts of the world – just across the border in southern Mexico, for example – often grow much taller than their peers. On average, Mayan children living in the U.S. are 4.5 inches taller than those in Guatemala, according to a major study published in the “American Journal of Human Biology.” Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Research suggests that proper nutrition is especially important during the “1,000 Day Window” – a critical period for physical growth and brain development that begins in pregnancy and lasts through a child’s second birthday. If the proper nutrients are missing during these months, growth slows. Too often, even if a child is well-fed later in life, they may never make up for the losses. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

The emphasis on good nutrition during the first “1,000 Days” has been growing worldwide. Humanitarian groups like Save the Children – in coordination with local and national governments – have increased efforts to weigh and measure babies in their first months of life, and, if necessary, provide appropriate interventions. Here, 7-month-old Cristian Oliver Chumil is right on track for weight but a few centimeters shorter than he should be. His parents are advised to feed him at least three times per day, including plenty of animal protein and fresh vegetables, when possible. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

The nonprofit Save the Children provides some families -- including Cristian’s -- with one pregnant goat and 10 laying chickens. The goat milk and eggs will go a long way toward supplementing the traditional staples of this area – rice, beans and local herbs, none of which provide enough of the vital nutrients young children need for proper development. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

After their children are weighed and measured at the Save the Children center, families make their way to a distribution center where their fingerprints are taken and they are handed rations of rice, beans and oil from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Guatemala is not a produce-poor nation. In many areas, the countryside is carpeted with fields of peas, carrots, lettuce, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. But very little of the crop makes its way into the homes of low-income Guatemalans. by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

PBS NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan and Roger Thurow of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, discuss why so many Guatemalan children are malnourished when the countryside surrounding them is overflowing with vegetables. Thurow explains that much of the produce is bound for the profitable export market, including the U.S. Image by Jason Kane/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Maria Pilar carries 5-month-old Blanca on her back as she weeds fields of peas and carrots. “I’ve been told that people eat these, but I don’t,” she told Hari Sreenivasan of the PBS NewsHour. Pilar added that she and her family prefer corn and beans. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Public health officials say that convincing mothers like Maria Pilar to eat more of the vegetables they harvest – rather than sticking exclusively to cultural staples of rice and beans – will be one of the trickiest elements of bringing down Guatemala’s startling malnutrition rates. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

In Guatemala City, the administration of President Otto Perez Molina has been rolling out its “Zero Hunger” campaign, which aims to reduce chronic malnutrition among children by 10 percent by 2016. Luis Enrique Monterroso, the minister of food security and nutrition, told PBS NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan that one of the fastest ways of meeting that goal will be concentrating on proven methods within the “1,000 Day Window.” Image by Michael Werner/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Chronic malnutrition reduces Guatemala’s GDP by as much as 11.4 percent every year. That’s why some of the nation’s top business leaders, including Juan Carlos Paiz, Herbert Gonzalez, and Alvaro Castillo (left to right) -- the chiefs of Guatemala’s baking, sugarcane and beverage industries, respectively -- meet regularly to discuss ways of reducing those numbers. Their No. 1 idea: Apply economic and political pressure on the latest round of presidential candidates, so that even when administrations change, the recent government commitment to tackle this problem will continue. Image by Michael Werner/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Until recently, many professionals in Guatemala City had no idea that malnutrition rates in the countryside were so abysmal. Then a social movement, led by Alejandro Biguria (above) and some friends and colleagues in the private sector and civic society, began to stir the nation’s conscience. They launched the “I Have Something to Give Campaign,” which coincided with the Guatemalan government’s Zero Hunger Pact. Image by Michael Werner/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

Even with the new dialogue coming from the capital, many low-income families say they haven’t seen much change. Government efforts to distribute fresh foods and nutritional counseling programs remain sporadic. Despite being more aware of the kinds of foods they should be feeding their children, many families still lack access to anything but their usual provisions of rice, beans and local herbs. Image by Hari Sreenivasan/PBS NewsHour. Guatemala, 2014.

In Guatemala – the country with the highest rates of malnutrition in the Americas – roughly half of the nation's children are "stunted" and experience slow growth, poor school performance and, later in life, lower economic productivity. In the heavily Mayan western highlands of Guatemala, where poverty rates top 80 percent, the ratio of stunted children is closer to 7 in 10.

But Guatemala also is one of the countries that is trying hard to turn that reality around. In fact, the nation sits atop the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index, a ranking compiled by the Institute of Development Studies in Britain that measures the political and social commitment to reduce hunger and under-nutrition in developing countries.