Monday, August 31, 2009
Malnutrition in Guatemala: A National Shame
This article describes the desperate situation of rural poor in Guatemala, where child malnutrition has reached 80% in some parts. Although Guatemala is not an impoverished country by world standards, their wealth is poorly distributed between the rural and urban population. Another concern is that this inequality of wealth is extremly correlated with race, with Guatemalans with more indigenous (mayan) heritage being more poor than Guatemalans of more European descent. Government intervention is needed in order to bring the rural poor out of extreme poverty. This is a perfect example of when sacrificing efficiency for equity is appropriate and necessary.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
This is a terrible situation to read about, and it was interesting to discover that there are many causes to the problem. I was surprised to hear that it is considered such a government failure, because they fail to collect enough taxes from wealthier Guatemalans to provide good schools and health care for the majority. Another surprise was to hear the role the US has played in reducing the remittances sent back to Guatemala due to the recession.
The inequality in Guatemala is astounding. I can't believe that there is so much poverty in a country that is not "impoverished by world standards." It is clear that the government needs to step in try to create more equality.
It is an eye opening article. It is very sad to know that the children in Guatemala are suffering due to the governments ignorance. The article also mentions how girls lack education which is what i believe is one of the major problems of children being malnourished because it is very important to educate mothers and aware them of the reasons and consequences of malnutrition. Little things are adding up and creating a huge problem of malnutrition in Guatemala. It is the government who needs to step up and work with the wealthy to help the poor by collecting taxes from them instead of making the rich people's life luxurious.
Post a Comment