Guatemalan Congress approves loan to combat chronic malnutrition

On Wednesday 27 February, the Guatemalan Congress approved a decree that authorises the Government to sign a loan agreement of up to US$100 million with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), to fund the Crecer Sano (Grow up Healthy) project, the main aim of which is to combat chronic malnutrition.

“This is an incredibly important step, that aims to tackle a problem we have been facing in Guatemala for many years (…) I also believe that these measures should be accompanied by other actions such as the approval of the Healthy Food Law”, stated representative Jairo Flores, Coordinator of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean. See HERE for the full intervention

“Besides the approval of the Crecer Sano loan, a greater understanding throughout Guatemalan society of the complexity of the problem of chronic childhood malnutrition has been achieved. That is, understanding the severe damage it causes, the change that this project could mean for thousands of girls and boys, as well as for the country as a whole, and therefore, of the urgency to approve it”, said Homa-Zahra Fotouhi, World Bank representative for Guatemala in his statement to the Prensa Libre newspaper.

Crecer Sano

The Crecer Sano project aims to improve practices and initiatives that combat chronic malnutrition, but particularly those which focus on the first thousand days of life of boys and girls.

Crecer Sano will support the implementation of the National Strategy for the Prevention of Chronic Malnutrition 2016-2020 in the departments that today have the highest rates of poverty and food insecurity in the country. These are Alta Verapaz, Chiquimula, Huehuetenango, Quiche, San Marcos, Sololá and Totonicapán.

Guatemalan Parliamentary Front against Hunger

The Guatemalan Parliamentary Front against Hunger is coordinated by the representative Jairo Flores, who in turn is the General Coordinator of the Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Currently, his main goals are the approval of the Healthy Food Law, which aims to inform consumers about what they are eating through warning labels and the Family Agriculture Law, which aims, among other things, to increase public purchasing of sustainable agriculture and, in this way, guarantee access to foods with a high nutritional value.

With the approval of the #Decreto 01-2019, the Congress demonstrates its approval to combat chronic malnutrition. The Project #CrecerSano, will reduce the rates of malnutrition across 7 departments of Guatemala over the next 5 years.

🏛#LegislativeWork 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦#ChildrenWithAFuture pic.twitter.com/MgdsQcF0vK

— Guatemalan Congress (@CongresoGuate) February 27, 2019