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Current Requirements (US$)$126.1 million
Analysis of the context, crisis and needs
Guatemala is enduring a complex humanitarian crisis generated by overlapping shocks and impacts — sudden and slow onset, short and long term — affecting more than a third of the population (6.4 million people).
Historically, natural hydro-meteorological and geological events have triggered disasters in large areas of Guatemala. In the past decade, pockets of food and nutrition insecurity have emerged in certain regions, starting in the eastern part of the Dry Corridor and expanding to almost two thirds of the national territory. Droughts, largely attributed to climate change, as well as other socioeconomic factors are at the root of the crisis. In addition, human mobility, in all its manifestations, has considerably increased the impact on previously affected populations.
Around 4.6 million people – more than a quarter of the population – require food assistance, a fourfold increase since 2019. Malnutrition is becoming increasingly common in urban areas, as opposed to the traditional remote and rural settings, amid internal migration and growing poverty, falling incomes and limited access to health services in urban outskirts. Stunting from chronic undernutrition affects nearly 43 per cent of children under age 5 — the highest rate across the region and the sixth highest in the world — with prevalence rates in rural and Indigenous communities more than 50 per cent higher than national averages.
In 2022, above-normal rainfall continues to affect large swaths of the country, aggravating an already dire livelihood and food insecurity situation. As of November 2022, more than 7 million people have been affected during the current rainy season, nearly triple the population affected during 2021. Prolonged saturation of soils, sinking roads, collapsed drains and landslides continue to hinder humanitarian access and operations in and around the Guatemala City metropolitan area.
Guaraquiche, Chiquimula, Guatemala
Maria, 40, is a single mother. She fends for herself and her three children by trekking up to the mountain ridges and cutting firewood to sell at the market.
OCHA/Vincent TremeauProjected situation in 2023 and beyond
In 2022, the main shocks driving humanitarian needs are food and nutrition insecurity, human mobility and hydro-meteorological disasters caused by extreme weather.
The total number of people in need increased from 3.8 million in 2021 to 5 million in 2023. The most dramatic increases were in the Food Security and Protection sectors. Food and nutrition needs are at their highest historical levels. Some 4.6 million people are food insecure and need immediate attention, mostly subsistence and sub-subsistence farming households and households with minimal or no income. Some 1.9 million people have humanitarian needs related to acute malnutrition, including children under age 5, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, older adults and people with disabilities. It is estimated that conditions negatively impacting food security will not change significantly, so needs would remain the same over the next year. Regarding the human mobility crisis, reports indicate that the number of returnees from Mexico and the United States is on the rise compared to previous years. This trend is expected to continue along with national and international protection needs for people on the move and host communities.
Women, girls and LGBTIQ+ persons in human mobility are at higher risk of sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence. Young men and boys have a high exposure to recruitment into organized crime. Unaccompanied children and adolescents are at higher risk of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and other forms of violence. Nearly 11,000 unaccompanied and separated children and adolescents were returned from the United States and Mexico between January 2021 and May 2022.
Tierra Blanca, Guatemala
This maize farmer is learning how to plant different grains to diversify his livelihood and protect against the effects of climate change and global economic shocks on staple crops.
OCHA/Marc BelangerResponse priorities in 2023
In 2023, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) will respond to the most pressing humanitarian needs of 2.3 million people, the equivalent of 46 per cent of the 5 million people in need. The HCT set this target based on agreed priorities within the operating context and on the capacities of humanitarian actors in the country. The financial requirements are US$125.4 million.
The Humanitarian Response Plan is based on the collectively identified shocks that drive humanitarian needs in Guatemala – food insecurity and acute malnutrition, human mobility, and disasters and remnants of Hurricanes Eta and Iota. The prioritized response activities will provide an intersectoral response to these shocks and their humanitarian consequences, focusing on the most vulnerable people. The activities are designed to ensure complementarity with the development projects in-country and complement the ongoing efforts of the Government.