Our plan in Guatemala

Plan is working at the grassroots level in Guatemala to help communities make real and lasting change, so that children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Plan began working in Guatemala in 1978 and currently has programs in more than 655 communities located in the departments of Escuintla, Santa Rosa, Jalapa, Alta and Baja Verapaz and Izabal. Plan Guatemala's programs aim to address the following issues affecting children:

• High mortality rate among infants and mothers
• Almost half of children under 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition
• Increase of incidences of HIV and AIDS
• Limited access to water and poor sanitation facilities
• High incidences of child mistreatment and abuse
• Weak citizen participation

Plan's programs and strategies to address these issues include:

Health

Plan Guatemala works to improve access to quality healthcare service, such as infant-mother care and promotes better community hygiene and sanitation practices.

Education

Plan's education-based programs focus is on improving conditions for children to obtain practical and useful learning for their daily lives through early childhood stimulation and readiness programs, a high quality primary school education and training youths for life through high school scholarships and technical courses.

Family welfare and food and economic security

Plan Guatemala works to achieve sustainable improvement in household income through training and promotion of stable income-generation activities and ensuring sufficient nutritious food at home to assist child growth and development.

Strengthening communities

To strengthen community capabilities, Plan, communities and municipalities will work to further integrate the communities in the country's development so that local authorities and municipal governments can respond more effectively to the demands of the communities, especially of children and adolescents.

Child protection

In an effort to reduce the high rates of mistreatment, sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents, Plan Guatemala helps create suitable conditions for respect of child rights and for their protection by the society and the State through a national legal framework.

Country Facts

Country	Guatemala	Australia
Flag
Population	12.3 Million	21 Million
Language	Spanish and Amerindian Languages	English
Capital	Guatemala	Canberra
GDP per capita (USD/year)	2233	$37,300
Life expectancy	67.6	81.5
Access to safe drinking water	95%	100%
Literacy	69.1%	100%
Source:	United Nations: Millennium Development Goals Report 2006