Guatemala is experiencing a worsening food crisis in the so-called dry corridor in the east and northeast of the country.

According to the Guatemalan authorities, 91 per cent of children there are suffering from malnutrition. This is three times higher than the levels reached in 2007 and 2008. Between 60 and 80 per cent of crops have been lost. Approximately 17,445 families in 194 communities are at high risk.

Arturo Echeverria, director of ActionAid Guatemala, said: “The combined effects of social inequality and a prolonged drought have left small-scale farmers and their families with little to eat. People are dying, and food and medicine are urgently needed to prevent further deaths.”

Between January and August 462 people, including 54 children, died of hunger according to media reports. Public hospitals are reported to be overwhelmed by cases of malnutrition.

On 8 September President Alvaro Colom declared a 'state of public calamity', allowing funds from the government's current budget to be used for emergency relief. Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela have offered food aid in response to the president's appeal for international help.

The most affected provinces are Baja Verapaz, El Progreso, Zacapa, Jalapa, Chiquimula, Santa Rosa and Jutiapa.

ActionAid and its partners are assessing the situation in San Carlos Alzatate in Jalapa province, to the east of Guatemala City. They are working to identify the most vulnerable families. Hunger is strongly associated with poverty in this district, and more than 90 per cent of people live below the poverty line.

ActionAid aims to reach 1500 families with immediate humanitarian relief and longer-term livelihood support.

There is an immediate need for basic foods including corn (maize), beans, rice, eggs and oil. Medicines are also in short supply.

In the medium term, people will need tools and seeds.

If there is rain in the next three weeks, and if people are given seeds, they will be able to harvest a crop in January. In the meantime they will need support with basic food. The worst case would be if rain does not come and a second crop is lost.

(homepage link photo, Parque Central Main Square, Guatemala  City, taken by Antonio Olmos).