ACF International Network
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Action Against Hunger has developed its water and sanitation expertise over nearly three decades of field work, advancing a number of solutions for populations at risk from water insecurity.
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Central to the targeting of malnutrition, Action Against Hunger extends water and sanitation improvements to communities with little or no access to proper sources.
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Though strategies may vary, our food security interventions all share a common goal: to fight hunger by preserving and strengthening livelihoods in a sustainable and contextual manner.
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Action Against Hunger’s innovative food security programs offer a broad range of solutions for generating income, boosting food production, and strengthening livelihoods.
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Our comprehensive approach to hunger involves extending water and sanitation services to communities faced with water scarcity, unsafe drinking water, and inadequate sanitation.
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We have developed an effective method to treat acute malnutrition that includes field-tested protocols and nutritional products backed by an international scientific advisory committee.
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Action Against Hunger helps rehabilitate and restock public health infrastructure, fields mobile health clinics, and trains local medical personnel on preventative and diagnostic care.
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Our comprehensive programs address the linkages between disease and malnutrition by coordinating with local expertise and strengthening existing public health systems.
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ACF International Map
Where We Work

Guatemala
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"I was in a neighbor’s house when the hurricane hit our village. Look at my neighbor's home. Their damage is minimal. And now look at my home. Within seconds a river of mud and rocks destroyed it...my husband, son and mother-in-law were buried by the mud inside the house. I saw everything happening and yet could not do anything."

Program Information

Directing HQ: 
Action Against Hunger - Spain
Launch Date: 
January 1998
World Region: 
Americas
Location(s): 
Departments of Chiquimula, San Marcos, Huehuetenango and Ciudad de Guatemala
Expatriates: 
5
Local Staff: 
58
Beneficiaries: 
101,468people
Funding: 
AECI, European Commission, ECHO, Government of Valencia, Acción contra el Hambre

Humanitarian Context

  • In addition to a high level of structural poverty, the climate in the country has been unfavorable in the five years since Hurricane Mitch, putting Guatemala in its worst situation of recent years.
  • In recent years drought has seriously decreased agricultural production. The production of corn and vegetables dropped by 60% in 2002. The reduction of families' food reserves is a serious threat to food security.
  • The progressive decrease in international coffee prices has adversely affected employment and salaries
    in one of the country's most important sectors.
  • The main causes of Guatemala's structural poverty are: limited access to arable land (unequal distribution), demographic pressure, low income from agriculture (lack of knowledge of agricultural techniques, agro-export model) and a lack of nutrition and sanitation education in rural regions.
  • The State, with its weak executive and judiciary, has not managed to achieve the ambitious peace accords or consolidation of democracy. This poses a threat to the development of society and the country's political stability.

Area(s) of Work

Nutrition: 
  • Standardization of protocols on the treatment of malnutrition
  • Monitoring of severely malnourished children
  • Nutrition surveys
  • Support for the Ministry of Health and other actors in setting up information and early warning systems relating to nutrition and food security
  • Health and nutrition education in communities
  • Creation of water committees
Food Security: 
  • Distribution of seeds, farming tools and fertilizers
  • Training in seed selection techniques
  • Technical support for the preservation of grain after harvest and supply of raw material for the construction of silos. Distribution of silos.
  • Agricultural training in technical and management aspects
  • Development of craft irrigation systems
  • Improvement of the commercialization of agricultural products at a local level
  • Soil preservation
Water & Sanitation: 
  • Conditioning of water points and implementation of irrigation systems
  • Construction of latrines
  • Training of plumbers and sanitation promoters
  • Protection of water resources (fountains)
  • Promotion of good practices in hygiene
  • Evaluation of knowledge, abilities and practices of the population regarding water and sanitation