Guatemala Country Strategic Plan (2018–2021)

CSP approved at EB November 2017 session.

Revision 03 approved by the CD in January 2019.

Revision 04 approved by the CD in May 2019.

Revision 05 approved by the CD in March 2020.

Revision 06 approved by the ED in May 2020.

Revision 07 approved by the RD in May 2020.

Revision 08 approved by the RD in June 2020.

Revision 09 approved by the ED in October 2020.

Guatemala faces serious challenges in reaching Sustainable Development Goal 2 on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Access to food is limited by pervasive poverty: almost two thirds of the population lives below the poverty line of USD 2 per day and 80 percent of indigenous people live in multi-dimensional poverty in marginalized rural areas. Half of the population does not have sufficient income to cover the cost of the basic food basket. Recurrent natural disasters since 1998 have led to a nationwide increase in vulnerability and food insecurity. The country has the world’s fourth highest prevalence of stunting in children under 5, at 46.5 percent, reaching 70 percent in some departments and a staggering 90 percent in some municipalities. In 2016, the Government committed to reducing stunting by 10 percent by 2020. T

The Government of Guatemala is responding to these challenges with the General Policy  (2016–2020), which prioritizes food security and nutrition, comprehensive health, quality education and social protection. WFP will reinforce work on the national food security priority, aligned with three targets of Sustainable Development Goal 2: i) reduce stunting in children under 5; ii) protect access to food for the most vulnerable people; and iii) raise the incomes of small-scale food producers, especially rural women, and agricultural productivity.

The strategic review of food security and nutrition in Guatemala, conducted by a national research institute, identified various opportunities for the country to reach these targets. Stakeholder consultations involving beneficiaries, government entities, civil society, the private sector and academia, and an analysis of comparative advantages determined the issues that WFP is best positioned to address. Based on these findings, this country strategic plan will focus on nutrition, resilience of subsistence and smallholder farmers, access to markets, capacity strengthening, and response to emergencies. Its strategic outcomes are aligned with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework priorities for inclusive and sustainable development and social development.

The country strategic plan articulates WFP’s support to improving food security and nutrition in Guatemala. Its objective is to support the Government and partners in achieving the following strategic outcomes:

• Strategic outcome 1: Children under 2 in prioritized areas with elevated stunting rates have reduced stunting prevalence by 2021.
• Strategic outcome 2: National institutions and programmes, including social protection systems, are enabled to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms, including in post-crisis situations, by 2021.
• Strategic outcome 3: Food-insecure communities and individuals in areas affected by climate-related shocks are able to address the impacts of these events on their food security and nutrition, as well as adapt to climate change and build resilience by 2021. 
• Strategic outcome 4: Smallholder farmers in areas with potential surpluses in diversified nutritious food production have greater access to markets by 2021.
• Strategic outcome 5: Populations in areas affected by socio-economic or natural shocks can satisfy their basic food and nutrition requirements during emergencies.

These strategic outcomes will be achieved in synergy with the activities of government entities, civil society, non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies.

Interventions in the country strategic plan will focus on the departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango and Sololá, which have high stunting prevalence. WFP will target mainly poor indigenous populations in these departments, giving special attention to women and children, and will respond to emergencies nationwide. The total budget is USD 67,476,305 million.