Findings from a case study about chronic malnutrition in Guatemala presented

The Tropical Agronomy Research and Teaching Centre (CATIE) in collaboration with the Secretariat of Food Security and Nutrition (SESAN) have presented a case study titled “Evolution of strategies to reduce chronic malnutrition, principal findings, to the government authorities, international cooperation and civil society “, within the framework of the European Union-funded National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPN) project.

Said study aimed to document and analyse the country’s progress with chronic malnutrition reduction strategies, specifically after implementing the National Strategy for the Prevention of Chronic Malnutrition (ENPDC) 2016-2020.

The potential of information platforms to support national institutions to monitor progress in implementing political frameworks and strategies in nutrition stands out among the conclusions drawn in the case study, as a result of their capacity to use existing data to then derive useful analyses for decision makers and therefore accelerate chronic malnutrition reduction.

The qualitative evaluation of the Municipal Public Policy for Food and Nutritional Security in Momostenango was also shared as part of the presentation, aiming to improve municipal level decision-making and strengthen governance.

The members of the panel presenting the case study were: Juan Carlos Carías, the SESAN secretary, Beatrice Bussi, deputy head of cooperation of the European Union delegation in Guatemala and Julio López, CATIE representative in Guatemala.

The Secretary of SESAN called on regional and departmental representatives to replicate success stories in their regions, so as to improve municipal processes relating to the prevention of chronic malnutrition in the country. He also thanked the cooperation of the European Union and CATIE for supporting institutional capacity building, both at the central and municipal level.

For their part, Bussi demonstrated that the support from the European Union by means of the NIPN Project has resulted in information relating to chronic malnutrition that is reliable, which facilitates decision-making and provides important elements for the government transition.

Finally, López invited those present to come together to tackle nutrition issues, among which is that of strengthening a culture of analysis and information use to move forward as regards quantitative and qualitative improvements in solving the problem of malnutrition that principally affects rural populations.