FOCUS COUNTRY: GUATEMALA
Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America, but faces numerous development challenges related to poverty, inequality, malnutrition, and migration. Over 50% of the country lives in poverty and over 40% of children under five years old suffer from chronic malnutrition, the highest prevalence of chronic malnutrition in LAC and sixth in the world. These challenges are compounded by the threat of climate change. Guatemala had 16th highest level of climate risk worldwide for the period 2010-2019 according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
IFPRI carries out a range of studies to better understand and address the food systems challenges Guatemala faces. This includes research on the impacts of COVID-19 on nutrition and food security, designing and implementing tools to measure the propensity to migrate, evaluating value chain programs to improve household income and nutrition in rural areas; and designing tools to aid the prioritization of investments in development projects among most needed areas.
Project Page: Characterizing and Monitoring External Migration Patterns in Guatemala
Journal Article: Short-term impacts of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition in rural Guatemala
Book Chapter: COVID-19 and Global Food Security: Two Years Later
Policy Brief: COVID-19 Study on Rural Areas in Guatemala
(In Spanish)