At a glance: Guatemala

The big picture

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This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

Problems hindering social development include high crime rates, illiteracy and low levels of education and health. Some 75,000 severely malnourished children have been identified, a consequence of three simultaneous emergencies: chronic poverty, drought and the coffee crisis. Some 67 per cent of indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition.

More children at younger ages are entering the labour force. Infant mortality for the country is 40 per 1,000 live births, but for indigenous children it reaches 46 per 1,000 live births and doubles in isolated rural indigenous areas. Maternal mortality is 89 per 100,000 live births nationally, but in predominantly indigenous areas, such as as Alta Verapaz and Huehuetenango, it reaches 192 and 152 per 100,000 live births respectively. Some 2.4 million people, or 20 per cent of the population, are still outside the health system.

The last five years show progress in pre-school enrolment (32.6 per cent for girls and 33.1 per cent  for boys) and primary school (83.62 per cent for girls and 81.07 per cent for boys), but the quality of schooling is deficient and school absenteeism, retention, and drop out rates are extremely high. Five out of 10 students who enter primary school in urban areas complete primary school, as opposed to only two out of 10 in rural areas. Some 60 per cent of the school age population live in rural areas, but only 24.5 per cent of the schools are in the rural areas. Eight municipalities do not have a middle school and only 58 per cent have a secondary school.

In the first 10 months of 2002, 408 children and youth were killed, a 27 per cent increase. Some were killed by gangs, others by security forces and others (street children) by drive-by shootings. Approximately 60 per cent of the homicides of women are the result of domestic violence. Sexual abuse and incest affect 30 per cent of girls and 18 per cent of boys.

UNICEF priorities

Four Country Programme objectives have been defined in UNICEF’s work in the country:

• To develop public policies coherent with the rights of children and women. 
• To increase coverage of state and non-state services for fulfilling economic and social rights, and protecting civil and political rights, especially of the most disadvantaged groups. 
• To empower civil society to build networks and capacities to defend rights. 
• To develop a model of integrated municipal interventions in the Departments where social indicators are amongst the country's worst.

Major strategies are:

• Promoting knowledge and respect for the rights of children and women, focusing on teachers, women, children and adolescents. 
• Foster policy dialogue and action by building alliances among government, civil society, international organizations and agencies. 
• Advocating for reforming and implementing rights-based legislation. 
• Strengthening the technical capacity, managerial abilities and social mobilization skills of State bodies, civil society organizations and community groups. 
• Monitoring the fulfilment of rights and the rights problems of women and children. 
• Evaluating and disseminating pilot experiences in building child-friendly municipalities. Integrated into all efforts, as crosscutting themes will be indigenous rights, gender, and disaster-preparedness.

With the departure of United Nations Verification Mission In Guatemala (MINUGUA), UNICEF will have to define what tasks are to be taken on, and which are to be shared with other members of the United Nations system and Guatemalan institutions. One of the main activities for 2003 is the joint production of a report on "Children and the Peace Building Process."