Guatemala
Nutrition for Growth (N4G) commitment
Reported progress
Assessment
Increased budget for food and nutrition security by 32% by 2014 based on an intersectoral approach that aims to promote food and nutrition security.
Since 2013, the budget execution of POASAN has been monitored on a monthly basis through the Integrated Accounting System (SICOIN) of the Ministry of Finance. The POASAN budget execution reports for the period 2013 to 2022 can be consulted at the following link: http://www.siinsan.gob.gt/siinsan/ejecucion-presupuestaria/. The total budget of the Annual Operational Plan for Food and Nutrition Security (POASAN), shows an increasing trend in 2018, however, the 2020 budget is double the 2021 budget.
Reported progress shows that the budget is decreasing, although 2014 is the earliest figure
1. Reduce stunting prevalence from 49.8% to 39.8% by 2015.
2. Ensure that no deaths occur from acute malnutrition through improved healthcare practices.
3.Reduce the prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age and pregnant women.
4. Reduce the prevalence of anaemia in children under age 5.
1. The prevalence of chronic undernutrition decreased from 49.8% in 2008/2009 to 46.5% in 2014/2015. There has not been another National Maternal and Child Health Survey since 2015. The next National Maternal and Child Health Survey is currently being planned.
2. Mortality due to acute malnutrition in children under five increased from 175 in 2014 to 183 in 2015, then showed a decreasing trend, in 2020 the Ministry of Health reported 85 cases of death due to acute malnutrition. MSPAS preliminary report reported that in 2021 there were 91 children under five years of age who died from acute malnutrition.
3. The prevalence of anaemia in non-pregnant women decreased from 21.4% in 2008/2009 to 14.5% in 2015/2015. For pregnant women, the prevalence of anaemia decreased from 29.1% in 2008/2009 to 24.2% in 2014/2015. The next National Maternal and Child Health Survey is currently being planned.
4. The prevalence of anaemia in children under five decreased from 47.4% in 2008/2009 to 34.2% in 2014/2015. The next National Maternal and Child Health Survey is currently being planned.
At least half of the individual commitment components are assessed to be on course
Monitor and evaluate the Covenant Zero-Hunger Plan by:
- Conducting annual surveys, including monitoring of the implementation of the First 1000 Days program to refocus efforts and evaluate the impact.
- Monitoring and ensuring proper treatment of cases of acute malnutrition.
- Monitoring of financial performance.
- Monitoring the implementation of the plan at the municipal and district levels, with the update of the institutions regarding the progress of interventions using a tool developed by SESAN (Secretariat for Food and Nutritional Security).
- Publishing reports on the website of the Information System, Monitoring and Early Warning of Food Insecurity and Nutrition.
a) Monitoring of the Thousand Day Window -MONIMIL-:
MONIMIL consists of monitoring the existence of supplies, equipment, human resource allocation and other aspects related to the capacity of the Health Services to deliver the selected Thousand Day Window actions: Improvement of complementary feeding from six months of age, Vitamin A supplementation, Therapeutic Zinc supplementation in the management of diarrhoea, Provision of micronutrients in powder form, Deworming and vaccination, Iron and Folic Acid supplementation for prevention and/or treatment of anaemia in pregnant women, Prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition. This monitoring was carried out until 2017, as of 2018, it was replaced by MONISAN.
The overall objective of MONISAN is to monitor the delivery of interventions related to food and nutrition security, to beneficiaries of government programmes. These interventions are related to the Thousand Days Window, Conditional Cash Transfers, the Family Agriculture Programme for the Strengthening of the Peasant Economy and the School Feeding Programme. Monitoring is carried out annually through a nationally representative survey of randomly selected households at the departmental level. The reports can be consulted at the following link: http://www.siinsan.gob.gt/siinsan/monitoreo-y-evaluacion/. In 2020 MONIMIL was not conducted due to the pandemic and in 2021, the information collected in MONIMIL was collected in the baseline of the Great National Crusade for Nutrition.
b) Monitoring of the treatment of children diagnosed with acute malnutrition
This monitoring was carried out until 2014, from 2015 it was no longer carried out officially, because priority was given to the implementation of MONIMIL. Currently, there is a proposal to monitor children suffering from acute malnutrition at the household level. The objective of this monitoring is to promote comprehensive care for children under five suffering from acute malnutrition, through the coordination of intersectoral actions at central and local levels. The monitoring will be carried out through a mobile application for devices with ANDROID operating system, using ArcGIS Survey123 software; this monitoring was implemented in 2021.
c) Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on acute food insecurity
According to the FAO, the Russia-Ukraine war threatens food security worldwide for multiple reasons. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are among the most important producers of agricultural products in the world, such as basic grains, oils and fertilisers. Both countries are net exporters and lead in supplying world markets for these products. In 2021, the Russian Federation and Ukraine were among the world's top three exporters of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil. The Russian Federation is also a leading producer of fuels and fertilisers.
In March 2022, using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) protocol, the acute food insecurity situation in the country's 22 departments was analysed, with the analysis population of 17.4 million inhabitants. The context for this analysis takes into account the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the country since 2020, the variability and rise in the prices of basic grains and other foodstuffs, as well as the rise in the price of agricultural inputs and fuels caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In the current scenario period, the onset of the rainy season is projected with a 65% probability of La Niña phenomenon in the Seasonal Hunger period.
In the first projection, covering the period June to September 2022, the population in IPC Phase 3 or above is estimated to be close to 4.6 million people (26% of the country's total population) food insecure in crisis or worse and in the second projection, covering the period October 2022 to February 2023, the population in IPC Phase 3 or above is estimated to be close to 3.2 million people (19% of the country's total population).
At least half of the individual commitment components are assessed to be on course
Support the implementation of the First 1000 Days program:
- The Ministry of Health and Social Security in Guatemala to increase its budget to support the implementation of First 1000 Days program, taking into account the growth rate of the population of Guatemala.
- Ensure financial resources are dedicated to nutrition during the annual General Budget for Income and Expenditure for the country.
The Thousand Day Window budget shows an increasing trend from 2019 (Q 438,371,6009.63), however, the 2022 budget (Q 1,312,392,002.00) is double the 2021 budget (Q 628,317,153.87).
Reported progress shows that the budget is increasing since 2019