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Guatemala   Why children in Guatemala need your helpMore than 75,000 children have been identified as severly malnourished in Guatemala. This is as a result of ongoing poverty, which particularly effects children living in rural areas.
Country factsThe Republic of Guatemala is the most populous nation in Central America and is bordered by Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Guatemala won its independence from Spanish rule in 1821, but has since experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, including a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and created over a million refugees.
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Infant mortality rates
are among some of the highest in the region at 40 per 1,000 live
births, while maternal mortality is 89 per 1,000 live births.
Organised crime, violent street gangs and domestic violence are
major problem in Guatemala, and sexual abuse and incest affect 30
per cent of girls and 18 per cent of boys.
