“We no longer need to go to all the way to San Luis just to buy vegetables. We have them right here! We’ve also planted some medicinal herbs since we can’t easily go to the pharmacy in the middle of the night to ease ailments.”
Food Insecurity: A Threat to Human Security of the Poqomam people Living in the Dry Corridor
Duration: July 2013– December 2015
Budget: US$2,463,955
Implementing Agencies: UNDP (lead), PAHO, FAO
For generations, the 2 million people living in Guatemala’s Dry Corridor have adapted to harsh conditions of water scarcity and seasonal food shortages. But in 2009, an extended drought pushed the region into an unprecedented food crisis, leaving nearly 400,000 people struggling to meet their basic nutritional needs. While emergency aid efforts helped stabilize the situation, the crisis laid bare deeper challenges—fragile ecosystems under pressure, multidimensional poverty, and unsustainable land use that fueled recurring cycles of food insecurity. Among the hardest hit were women and children, whose high rates of malnutrition posed serious long-term risks for health and development. Poor sanitation and inadequate housing further compounded these hardships.
The programme’s overall goal is to enhance the resilience of participating communities and the capacities of the Government entities to the multiple and interrelated human insecurities in the Dry Corridor. In particular, the programme aims to: (i) strengthen the capacity of the local Government and community-based organizations to prevent emergencies and to advance the implementation of early warning mechanisms; (ii) empower local by developing skills for better resource management; and (iii) improve access to quality services and opportunities to enhance the community’s food, health, nutrition and housing situation.
KEY MATERIALS
Programme Summary
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