Guatemalan nutrition project shows significant impact in Huehuetenango

The 'Guatemaltecos por la Nutrición' project is entering a critical phase as it undergoes its second impact assessment, aiming to verify the long-term sustainability of its efforts against malnutrition in Guatemala. The initiative, established more than four years ago by the business group Castillo Hermanos, targets the northwestern department of Huehuetenango.

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What was achieved in the first year of intervention in the area of Cuilco, La Libertad, and La Democracia was to reduce acute malnutrition to practically zero, starting from a baseline of 6%.

Economist María Sophia Aguirre is leading the audit, evaluating the project's progress. Aguirre, an emeritus professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington and president of the Catholic International University, is on the ground collecting data. The project employs an integrated model designed to break the cycle of poverty and malnutrition.

This latest field phase involves assessing the second year of intervention in the municipalities of Cuilco, La Libertad, and La Democracia, and evaluating the first year's impact in Santa Eulalia and San Pedro Soloma. Auditors are also establishing a baseline for a third zone, including the municipality of Chiantla, an area severely affected by malnutrition and bordering Mexico.

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We hope that this year we continue to improve and that the situation is restored and stabilized.

Initial findings are highly encouraging. Aguirre reported that acute malnutrition in the first intervention zone (Cuilco, La Libertad, La Democracia) was reduced from a baseline of 6% to virtually zero within the first year. Furthermore, chronic malnutrition in the pilot region of Santa Eulalia and San Pedro Soloma saw a drastic decrease, falling from 26% to 9% in the same period.

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Chronic malnutrition in that pilot region decreased drastically from 26% to 9% during the first twelve months of operations.

Aguirre attributes the project's success to a comprehensive economic development methodology that rigorously assesses institutional dimensions and behavioral impacts. The model integrates six interconnected action areas: primary healthcare, food access, nutritional support, water and sanitation, economic growth, and early childhood development. "It's not about treatment, but about accompaniment. It's about not wanting to be paternalistic, but working together, according to human dignity and the principle of subsidiarity, which is what works over time," Aguirre explained. The project's viability relies on community engagement and voluntary participation, fostering mutual trust between local authorities and families.

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It's not about treatment, but about accompaniment. It's about not wanting to be paternalistic, but working together, according to human dignity and the principle of subsidiarity, which is what works over time.