Guatemala

Guatemala: A food insecurity constant reality

From 2020 to 2022, 21.1% of Guatemala’s population was affected by severe food insecurity, with a gender food gap of 0.3 million. According to a study conducted by CARE in Guatemala in 2022 in Guatemala’s dry corridor, 42% of households had exhausted all grain from the previous harvest; 33% had grain reserves lasting only three more months or less; 21% of households incurred debt to purchase food; 38% of households reduced their meal sizes; 22% of respondents ate less or abstained entirely, prioritizing their children's meals; 31% skipped at least one meal daily. IPC predicted that food security is expected to deteriorate from June to August 2023, due to the rise in food prices. In total, it is estimated that approximately 604 thousand people (3% of the population) are in Emergency (Phase 4) and close to 3.6 million (21% of the population) in Crisis (Phase 3).
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Impacto del cambio climático en la Inseguridad Alimentaria Áreas afectadas por ETA, IOTA y Julia

La depresión tropical Julia impactó en Guatemala, entre el 7 y 10 de octubre de 2022. Los estragos causados por esta tormenta se logran entender en el marco de un año con lluvias estacionales intensas, que mantenían al país con un alto porcentaje de humedad en los suelos. Los departamentos más afectados fueron: Izabal, Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango, Quiché, Petén, Zacapa, Chiquimula y Suchitepéquez. Estos departamentos, coinciden con la mayoría de los que fueron afectados por Eta e Iota en el año 2020, por lo cual, el impacto de Julia fue enorme. A esto se sumaban los efectos de la pandemia por COVID-19, que aún presenta rebrotes con bajas tasas de vacunación de la población. Este contexto humanitario complejo y multifactorial, que se tenía al momento del ingreso de la depresión tropical Julia, explica en gran parte, la difícil situación enfrentada por la población afectada.
En octubre de 2022, en el Informe, CONRED reportó que las lluvias asociadas a depresión tropical Julia provocaron 1995 incidentes, con deslizamientos de tierra, derrumbes, hundimientos, inundaciones, entre otros. Fueron afectadas 1,358,158 personas, se evacuaron 58,634 y 19,372 fueron damnificadas, de las cuales 10,319 fueron llevadas a albergues. El perfil de las familias más afectadas muestra que el mayor impacto lo tuvieron hogares rurales y pertenecientes a los pueblos indígenas Q’eqchi’, K’iche’, Mam, Kaqchikel, Garífuna y Chorti´, y con ingresos menores a 3 mil quetzales, que se dedican principalmente a la agricultura de subsistencia, servicios, ventas y trabajos informales. La Evaluación de Daños y Análisis de Necesidades –EDAN-, desarrollada por CONRED, reportó que las viviendas afectadas fueron 2,303 en riesgo, 2,946, con daño leve, 15,430 con daño moderado y 996 con daño severo. Las infraestructuras públicas dañadas fueron 450 carreteras afectadas, 7 carreteras destruidas; 199 escuelas afectadas; 124 puentes dañados, 14 puentes destruidos, 14 puentes hamaca dañados y 1 destruido. (Gobierno de Guatemala, 2022)1
La depresión tropical Julia, ha impactado directamente en la calidad de vida de las personas afectadas, dejando pérdidas que profundizan su pobreza y precariedad:
• El 62% de las familias entrevistadas, ya habían sido afectadas por Eta e Iota en 2020. Es decir que son poblaciones con una situación constante de amenaza y precarización por la pérdida continua de sus medios de vida. Las pérdidas principales fueron debido a inundaciones, deslaves y derrumbes; afectando tierras, siembras, cosechas, semillas, árboles y animales de patio, y en menor medida, ganado, equipo y
herramientas y vehículos.
• De las 107 personas entrevistadas, un 35% tuvo daños en su vivienda. De estas, solo tres familias han recibido apoyo para reparar daños o reconstruir su vivienda. Muchas de estas familias ya habían tenido daños con las tormentas Eta e Iota en 2020.
• En el acceso al agua, el 4% de las familias tuvo daños severos en sus sistemas de agua y 5% perdieron el acceso al agua, debido a la destrucción de tuberías, pozos y contaminación de fuentes de agua.
• En lo relacionado con el acceso a servicios de salud, las comunidades que no tienen puesto de salud no tuvieron acceso a atención con personal de salud o a medicamentos durante la emergencia. Al igual que en otros RGA realizados anteriormente, se constata que el sistema de salud tiene limitadas capacidades para atender a la población, así como, para responder a emergencias y atender a la población afectada.
• El RGA reporta que las personas entrevistadas, en su mayoría, tienen ingresos inferiores al salario mínimo y al precio de la Canasta Básica Ampliada – CBA-. El 62% de las familias tienen ingresos menores a tres mil quetzales, y de estos, el 31% son inferiores a 1,500 quetzales. Estos ingresos no les permite generar condiciones para enfrentar este tipo de emergencias.
• En su mayoría, las familias dependen de los pocos medios de vida que poseen, y que se vieron afectados por las lluvias, inundaciones y deslaves. Read More...

Fast and Fair: Technical strategy for CARE’s support to COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Guatemala

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the economy, political and social conditions in all countries of the world, however, countries with a high economy have reached almost 100% of their population vaccinated, on the other hand developing countries such as Guatemala report statistical records show that only 36% have a complete scheme. It is widely known that as long as there are unvaccinated countries, new variants of SARS-CoV-2 will continue to develop, which will make it difficult to end the pandemic, it is therefore essential to ensure that the vaccine reaches all countries and all people quickly and safely, without discrimination. Read More...

PROSPER II: Promoting a Sustainable and Food Secure World (September 2019 – August 2022)

CARE and Cargill’s partnership extends more than 60 years and is a testament to the values we share. Since 2008, CARE and Cargill have reached more than 4.6 million people, 600,000 people directly and 4 million indirectly, through 34 projects in 13 countries. Of those reached, more than 2.4 million are women.

Our work has tackled complex issues spanning smallholder agriculture, market access, women’s economic empowerment, nutrition, child labor, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Beyond the tremendous impact of our efforts on the ground, our partnership has contributed greatly to CARE’s global food and nutrition security approach, informing our signature initiative, She Feeds the World (SFtW). Read More...

CARE Guatemala Food Security Rapid Assessment 2022

EVALUACIÓN RÁPIDA DE INSEGURIDAD ALIMENTARIA SAN BARTOLOMÉ JOCOTENANGO, QUICHÉ

Rural families in Guatemala face one of the most severe food shortage seasons, mainly due to the high cost of meeting their basic needs, the effects of international conflicts and COVID-19 prevention measures, low hiring of temporary labor, the slow recovery of the impact of storms Eta and Iota, and the rainy season 2022 that has started with rains above normal, causing water saturation in the soil, which affects subsistence agriculture. This is worst for families who live in the dry corridor.

In this context, the Municipal Coordinator for the Disaster Reduction –COMRED- and the Municipal Directorate of Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management -IMGIRD of the municipality of San Bartolomé Jocotenango, department of Quiché, with the technical support of CARE Guatemala and TECHO, surveyed 163 households in 33 rural communities to know the availability and access to food, the economic situation, gender roles and strategies of survival that families are implementing. This report shares the results of the analysis of the data collected in July 2022

• 42% of households do not have any remaining grain from the previous harvest, and a further 33% only have remaining grain reserves for further 3 months or less.
• Women earn 56% less than men. On average, men earn $143 per month, and women earn $62.
• 21% have gone into debt to be able to buy food
• 38% are reducing the size of their meals; 22% of people are eating less (or have stopped eating) to make sure their children can eat
• 31% are now skipping at least one meal per day
• 3.7% have spent entire days without eating
• 2% have sold their land to buy food
• In 45% if the households, at least one member has migrated outside the community to find jobs elsewhere.
• Women and young girls are doing 94% of the work preparing food, cleaning, and taking care of family members. Read More...

Women’s Voice and Leadership Program Formative Evaluation

The formative evaluation of the Women’s Voice Leadership (WVL) Program covered the period from its announcement in June 2017 to March 2021. The evaluation had three objectives: to determine if and to what extent Global Affairs Canada was “fit for purpose” to support WVL as a feminist program; to determine if WVL’s design features and implementation modalities were relevant and appropriate to address the needs of women’s rights organizations (WROs), and to determine WVL’s progress toward results. Read More...

Análisis Rápido de Género ETA e IOTA Guatemala, diciembre 2020

La situación que enfrenta Guatemala en la actualidad es de una complejidad enorme. Aparte de las condiciones de desigualdad histórica y altos niveles de pobreza que marcan la realidad del país, desde marzo de 2020 se ha tenido que enfrentar los impactos de la pandemia de COVID, y recientemente las emergencias generadas por las tormentas ETA e IOTA, que han azotado a gran parte del territorio nacional. El país se encuentra en una situación excepcional de emergencia sobre emergencia y en donde las acciones de prevención y respuesta han resultado insuficientes para la magnitud de la tragedia.
ONU Mujeres y CARE Guatemala, como parte del Grupo de Trabajo de Género en la Acción Humanitaria del Equipo Humanitario País (EHP), consideran esencial aportar información que permita entender la situación que enfrentan las poblaciones afectadas, y en especial, información con análisis de género, que permita reconocer el impacto diferenciado en las mujeres y niñas, identificando sus necesidades específicas para fortalecer los esfuerzos de mitigación y recuperación, así como para asegurar una respuesta efectiva que garantice sus derechos. Es por ello que realizan este Análisis Rápido de Género (RGA por sus sigla en inglés), como una herramienta para la orientación de la respuesta humanitaria a las tormentas ETA e IOTA, y en el marco de la pandemia de COVID 19.
Objetivo: Identificar y analizar las afectaciones, necesidades e impactos de la emergencia generada por la tormenta ETA en la situación de las mujeres y niñas en Guatemala, y proporcionar recomendaciones prácticas para el trabajo de respuesta y recuperación; cubriendo las áreas más afectadas por la tormenta y priorizadas por CARE y ONU Mujeres, que son los departamentos de Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Izabal, Chiquimula, Quiché, Huehuetenango, Jalapa, Zacapa y Petén. Read More...

CASH AND VOUCHER ASSISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In April 2020, CARE received a five million dollar grant from MARS to implement a multi-country program, including Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Peru, Thailand, and Venezuela1, with the aim of reducing the negative impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, especially women and girls, using complementary and multimodal approaches. A key activity of this program was the provision of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) to vulnerable populations to meet their diverse basic needs. Program data indicated that CVA was implemented in Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Thailand. Monitoring data from different countries showed that CVA was unconditional; with cash modality representing 95% of transfers. Key targets populations for CVA activities vary by country and include: vulnerable households (Cote d’Ivoire, and Haiti); migrants and refugees (Honduras, Ecuador, and Thailand); domestic workers (Guatemala and Ecuador); survivors of GBV and other forms of violence against women (Guatemala and Ecuador); and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning (LGBTQI+) individuals (Ecuador). Across all projects (or countries), participants reported numerous uses of CVA including purchase foods stuff, payment of health services, hygiene services, rental/housing, savings and livelihoods activities.
Given the nature and scale of this program as well as its organizational commitment to learning, CARE was keen to understand the extent to which the project supported and protected vulnerable populations against the loss or disruption of their livelihoods in a gender sensitive manner. The study seeks to provide open-source learnings for peer
companies and agencies on how CVA was utilized in this program with two major questions: (i) How gender sensitive was the process for CARE’s CVA? (ii) How gender sensitive was the intended outcome of CARE’s CVA?
This documentation report compiles lessons from across the projects implemented in the targeted countries and draws from the diversity of their experiences to provide some recommendations on more gender sensitive CVA in the future. Read More...

Taking Care of Our Mountains

On Friday December 11, we celebrated International Mountain Day, which was designated in 2003 by the United Nations to bring attention to the vital importance of conserving mountain ecosystems and the critical environmental services they provide.
To highlight the importance of mountain ecosystems and uplift the voices of women, girls, and other marginalized groups that suffer disproportionately from their destruction, we are sharing a report that outlines some of CARE’s initiatives to protect mountains. Developed in collaboration with and under the leadership of CARE Peru, this report highlights inclusive and innovative solutions for mountain conservation by showcasing three case studies from CARE Peru, CARE Ecuador, and CARE Nepal and examples from CARE Tanzania and CARE Guatemala. [20 pages]. Read More...

Gestión sostenible para la conservación y restauración del bosque mesófilo del pie de monte volcánico de los municipios del Quetzal, La Reforma, Nuevo Progreso y el Tumbador del departamento de San Marcos en la cuenca del río Naranjo

This document is the results report of the Project Baseline "Sustainable Management for the Conservation and Restoration of the Mesophil forest of the Volcanic Mount Foot of the Municipalities of Quetzal, La Reforma, Nuevo Progreso and the Tomb of the department of San Marcos, in the Naranjo River basin" whose funding comes from the Tropical Forest Conservation Fund (FCA) whose field stage was developed during August-October 2019, in order to provide the initial parameters and indicators to assess the impact of the objectives and results defined by that project. The project was designed with the primary purpose of contributing to the well-being of populations located in the upper and middle part of the Naranjo River basin, through the promotion and implementation of activities aimed at improving agroforestry systems and sustainable conservation and restoration of forest remnants, for the recovery of connectivity as a measure to address biodiversity loss and fragmentation of forest ecosystems. The selected territory has a high wealth of flora and fauna with ecosystem functionality that contribute to the well-being and family economy of 115,891 inhabitants in the four municipalities according to data from the 2018 census. It belongs to the Volcanic Chain Region prioritized by the FCA and according to the National Forest Institute (INAB) for its hydrological potential is defined as a very high priority of intervention. Read More...

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