Hunger in Guatemala

A turkey lies in the home of Estanislao and Juana on May 2, 2022. The chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

Guatemala: Maize is the main food in Guatemalan villages.

Guatemala: Victoria Aguilón prepares a palto de salsa in the kitchen of her home in Comitancillo.

Maria Leticia, 17, stands in the kitchen of her home in Comitancillo, Guatemala, on May 2, 2022. The chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

A piece of ayote, which is cooked in Marisela’s home, on May 2, 2022, in the village of Tuilelen, in Comitancillo, Guatemala. The chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

Juana rests in her home on May 2, 2022, located in the village of Tuilelen, in Comitancillo, GuatemalaThe chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

A chicken feeds in one of the homes in Comitancillo, Guatemala, on May 2, 2022. The chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

Marisela is at home on May 2, 2022, in the village of Tuilelen in Comitancillo, Guatemala. The chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

A plate of tamales in Comitancillo, Guatemala, on May 2, 2022. The chronic malnutrition rate in Guatemala is the highest in Latin America and the sixth highest in the world.

The land of the Americas is rich in natural products and seduces with its gastronomic diversity and unique flavors, yet more than sixty million people live in hunger on the continent. In this scenario, to think about the future is to wonder if there will be food for the next day; the present is to sleep on an empty stomach.

Guatemala is the country with the highest rate of chronic malnutrition in Latin America and the fourth highest in the world, according to World Bank figures. Beans, rice, corn, chili peppers, all in meager rations, is the survival diet of many Guatemalans. The department of San Marcos is one of the areas most affected by hunger in this country and the World Food Program has warned that fifty percent of the families do not have access to a balanced diet. Malnutrition hits the indigenous population of the area the hardest and more than half of the children live with malnutrition.

In 2009, the government declared a “state of public calamity” caused by the famine that hit the population and the situation has not improved since then. The pandemic has been another factor that has disadvantaged many families, who look to migration as an opportunity to give their loved ones a better life. In these arid mountains, sleeping hungry is the only certainty with which to live.