Guatemala - Malnutrition

Living in the United States today we really don't think about those in need around us. We don't think about the fact that in other countries there are children and adults that are not getting enough food. It only will cross our minds when we see a World Vision advertisement for children in need. There is another need out there besides not having enough food, there is a problem in Guatemala where the children are not getting the right kind of food. Malnutrition, these children are eating but their bones are not getting calcium for the children to have strong bones. Half of the children in Guatemala had chronic malnutrition. Some areas within Guatemala the chronic malnutrition rate is as high as 90%. Guatemala is a very prosperous country is terms of gross domestic product, so why are so many people malnourished?

In 2008 nearly half of the children that are under the age of 5 are stunted in their growth. This issue is close to my heart because my cousins are adopted from Russia and they were stunted as children. The large Mayan cultures in Guatemala are the ones that have the most malnutrition. Yet the largest hunger hot spots are in the places where the civil war was the most intense. Many would say that Guatemala is not just one big country but multiple countries. They would be divided into th
e rich areas and the poor areas. In these poorer regions the malnutrition rates are much larger.

I do agree with the article, malnutrition is not made public unless they have the right picture to guilt people. Yet the underlying issue is poverty! The people of Guatemala do not have the money to get the access to the correct food. The rich communities are the ones that do not have high malnutrition rates. They also don't distribute food to these areas that are deserving. The areas that are in the most need are so isolated that many people even in the country of Guatemala do not know that this issue is even present.