Guatemala: Monitoring the Humanitarian Response - Bulletin n° 2 | July-December 2024

Situation Update

In the second half of 2024, humanitarian organizations in Guatemala worked together to address urgent needs related to food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and human mobility. Efforts centered on the most vulnerable communities in the eastern Dry Corridor and border regions, including Chiquimula, Zacapa, El Progreso, Izabal, Alta Verapaz, Quiché, Huehuetenango, and San Marcos, with continuous monitoring and targeted support.

Rising food costs continue to put pressure on households struggling with food insecurity, which increased by four per cent compared to 2023. According to WFP monitoring data, food insecurity levels dropped slightly toward the end of 2024, with the percentage of affected households falling from 46 per cent in August and September to 38 per cent. However, this improvement was less significant than in previous years (22 per cent in December 2023 and 17 per cent in December 2022).

The Protection Sector released its Protection Analysis (PAU), revealing that 55.1 per cent of the population lives in poverty, while 61.6 per cent faces multidimensional poverty, meaning they lack access to healthcare, education, employment, and other essential services. Criminal groups, gangs, and other illicit networks continue to drive violence and insecurity, particularly in urban and border areas.

Human mobility remains a challenge. Social organizations report that 97 per cent of migrants and asylum seekers traveling through Guatemala have encountered threats such as robbery, fraud, and extortion. Additionally, the country still lacks an official system to track individuals in mixed migration flows, making response efforts more difficult.

At the same time, the shift from El Niño to La Niña brought heavy rains to some areas and droughts to others, disrupting agricultural production, reducing food availability, and worsening acute malnutrition in children. In 2024, authorities reported 28,515 cases of acute malnutrition among children under five, a 14 per cent increase from 2023. The year also saw 86 reported deaths, per Guatemala's National Food and Nutritional Security Information System (SIISAN).

The Protection Analysis found that 48 per cent of the population faces climate-related risks, including extreme heat and wildfires. According to the 2024 Food Security Survey (ESA) conducted by the WFP, one in four households was affected by severe weather, and 51 per cent of these households had to rely on crisis or emergency coping strategies.

Storms, floods, landslides, and river overflows in 2024 hit coastal areas and lowland watersheds the hardest. These disasters led to 2,976 recorded incidents, affecting 23,702 people, displacing 52,284, and forcing 2,061 into shelters, per the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED).

These challenges have worsened humanitarian crises across the country, creating overlapping emergencies and increasing the need for coordinated, effective responses.

This bulletin highlights the results of the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and its multisectoral efforts.