Caribbean & Central America - November 2020

A new report by the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) is warning that inadequate nutrition in Guatemala risks “turning back years of development gains”. According to the report, which was produced in collaboration with the Guatemala-based institute of nutrition of Central America and Panama (Incap) and the Guatemalan government, data from 2018 shows the country lost US$12bn to undernutrition, overweight, and obesity that year, equal to 16.3% of GDP.

Released on 25 September, the report shows that 42.4% of Guatemalans over the age of 20 are considered overweight, while 20.8% of Guatemalans in the same age category are obese according to the latest (2014/2015) statistics. This has led to an increase in illnesses and diseases such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. According to 2018 statistics, some 950,000 Guatemalans considered overweight or obese suffer from type 2 diabetes, while over 1.3m suffer from high blood pressure. The report also estimates that an additional 5% of Guatemalans suffer from other health problems related to being overweight or obese, particularly various types of cancer. The effect on children and young people is a particular worry, with Guatemala’s health ministry listing close to 20,000 cases of acute malnutrition in children under five (see sidebar). The impacts of a continuous high obesity rate include an increased mortality rate due to obesity, an increased premature mortality rate, a drop in the size of the labour force as individuals are no longer able to work due to health complications related to obesity, increased health care costs for families, and a drop in education levels among other things.

Costs

The report estimates the total of cost of malnutrition in 2018 to be US$12.03bn - a figure which it breaks down as costs to the health care system; cost to the education system; and loss in productivity. It puts the cost to health services at US$4.10bn (of which US$3.72bn is from treating conditions related to being overweight and obesity and US$381m from treating undernourishment). It puts the cost to education at US$32m. According to the report some 100,000 students had to repeat a grade, at a cost of US$1,000 - the bulk of which is footed by the state, leaving families to pay around US$300. The report also puts the cost of malnutrition in terms of lost productivity at US$7.9bn of which US$7.8bn is due to undernourishment and US$0.1bn to overweight and obesity. It breaks down the US$7.9bn into premature mortality (US$2.1bn); lower educational levels (US$5.66bn) and absenteeism (US0.92bn).

• The impact of coronavirus

The renewed focus on the impact of inadequate nutrition comes as concerns are rising about the food security situation due to the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Even before the pandemic, an emergency food security assessment by the WFP found that 2.3m Guatemalans were food insecure. However, a new WFP remote assessment found that 4m people have a poor food intake, of which 2.8m - in a country of 17m- are severely food insecure. An August food security outlook update from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a leading provider of early warning and analysis on food insecurity, notes that after five months of restrictions marked by declining incomes and rising food prices, there has been an impact on the food security in both rural and urban poor and very poor households. It states that as of 15 August, the health ministry information system has reported 19,945 cumulative cases of acute malnutrition and that this is the year with the highest number of cases, 77% higher than last year. 

• Child malnutrition

A June outlook by FEWS NET notes that during epidemiological week 24 (7–13 June) the government reported a cumulative total of 15,998 cases of acute malnutrition in children aged under five years, more than twice the figure for the same epidemiological week in 2019 (7,542 cases).