.jpg)
GUATEMALA
Webcountry
GUATEMALA
Guatemala, a country in Central America, is comprised of 108,889 square kilometers, which is relatively the size of Tennessee (Taft-Morales, 2019). Guatemala has a population of approximately 16.91 million people, making it the most populous country in Central America (Taft-Morales, 2019). Of these almost 17 million residents, over 59% live in poverty (Taft-Morales, 2019). Guatemala also experiences some of the highest rates of crime and inequality in the region, with a higher percentage in its indigenous population (Taft-Morales, 2019). Guatemala’s children are heavily affected, as more than half are chronically malnourished (Taft-Morales, 2019).
HEALTH INDICATORS
There are several key health status indicators that are most used by those who work in global health to understand and address global health issues (Skolnik, 2016). These are a consistent set of indicators that comparisons may be made across people of the same country or different countries (Skolnik, 2016). The key health status indicators with definitions are below. In bold are the rates for Guatemala:
Infant mortality rate- The number of deaths of infants under age 1 per 1,000 live births in a given year (Skolnik, 2016): 21 (Unicef, 2020)
Life expectancy at birth- The average number of years a newborn baby could expect to live if current mortality trends were to continue for the rest of the newborn’s life (Skolnik, 2016) Males 70, Females 74 (Taft-Morales, 2019)
Maternal mortality ratio- The number of women who die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth complications per 100,000 live births in a given year (Skolnik, 2016) 95 (Who, 2016)
Neonatal mortality rate- The number of deaths to infants under 28 days of age in a given year per 1,000 live births in that year (Skolnik, 2016) 12.3 (Who, 2016)
Under-5 mortality rate (child mortality rate)- The probability that a newborn baby will die before reaching age 5, expressed as a number per 1,000 live births (Skolnik, 2016) 26.2 (Who, 2016)
DISEASES OF GUATEMALA
The top cause of death in Guatemala are lower respiratory infections, accounting for 14% of all deaths (CDC, 2013). In addition, and closely associated with these deaths, approximately 0.6-1.8% (38,000-130,000 residents have either HIV or AIDS (WHO, 2005). However, it is thought the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is much higher, as under reporting is of great concern (WHO, 2005). Tuberculosis and AIDS are closely linked as 8% of all residents with TB also have HIV or AIDS (WHO, 2005).
Guatemala has been hit hard from COVID-19, with more than 84,000 cases which have attributed for over 3,000 deaths (Peñaloza, 2020). Just this past week, the president of Guatemala has tested positive for COVID and is symptomatic with a fever and body aches (Peñaloza, 2020). In March of 2020, Guatemala closed all its borders and international airports, but have since reopened on September 18, 2020 (Peñaloza, 2020).
All of these previously mentioned diseases have an increased prevalence in environments such as Guatemala, such as highly dense populations, poor sanitation and little access to healthcare and education in the poorer populations.
REFERENCES
CDC. (2013, November). CDC in Guatemala. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/guatemala/pdf/guatemala.pdf
CDC. (2017, January 25). Healthcare Access and Conditions in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Retrieved October 03, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/central-american/healthcare-diet/index.html
Deeney, M., & Harris‐Fry, H. (2020, May 26). What influences child feeding in the Northern Triangle? A mixed‐methods systematic review. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mcn.13018
Orozco, M., & Valdivia, M. (2017, February). Educational challenges in Guatemala and consequences for human capital and development. Retrieved from https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Educational-Challenges-in-Guatemala-and-Consequences-for-Human-Capital-and-Development-1.pdf
Peñaloza, M. (2020, September 18). President Of Guatemala tests positive for COVID-19. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/18/913693550/president-of-guatemala-tests-positive-for-covid-19
Skolnik, R. L. (2016). Global health 101. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Slater, C., Mazariegos, M., & Ramirez-Zea, M. (2016, June 17). Validity of Guatemalan Mother's Self-Reported Breast-Feeding Practices of 3-Month-Old Infants - Monica Mazariegos, Christine Slater, Manuel Ramirez-Zea, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0379572116654644
Taft-Morales, M. (2019, March 20). Guatemala: Political and socioeconomic conditions and U.S. relations. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42580.pdf
The World Bank. (n.d.). Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - Guatemala. Retrieved October 04, 2020, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=GT
Unicef. (2020, February 06). Guatemala (GTM) - Demographics, Health & Infant Mortality. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://data.unicef.org/country/gtm/
USAID. (2018, August 21). Health and Nutrition. Retrieved October 03, 2020, from https://www.usaid.gov/guatemala/health-nutrition
USAID. (2018, February). Guatemala: Nutrition profile. Retrieved from https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1864/Guatemala-Nutrition-Profile-Mar2018-508.pdf
WHO. (2005, December). Guatemala. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.who.int/hiv/HIVCP_GTM.pdf
WHO. (2016). GHO | Key Country Indicators | Guatemala - key indicators. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.cco.ki-GTM?lang=en
World Health Organization. (2013). Violence injury prevention. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2013/country_profiles/guatemala.pdf?ua=1
World Health Organization. (2018). Injuries and violence: The facts 2014 [Brochure]. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
World Life Expectancy. (2018). Road Traffic Accidents in Guatemala. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/guatemala-road-traffic-accidents