A woman works in a field at an Action Against Hunger project in Guatemala.

Central America

Action Against Hunger's projects in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua focus on good nutrition, clean water and helping communities respond to natural disasters.

At the end of 2020, two hurricanes devastated large areas of Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras – leaving 5.3 million people in need of humanitarian support.

Malnutrition, poverty and maternal and infant mortality are all high, especially in rural and indigenous areas. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have also increased unemployment and extreme poverty.

An estimated 50,000 people cross the southern border of the USA from Central America on an irregular basis every year. This is mainly as a result of unemployment, poverty, violence and the impact of climate change on nutrition.

Public safety, migration, drug trafficking, education and poor access to clean water and basic sanitation are some of the challenges facing Central Americans. Many live below the poverty line, making them highly vulnerable to seasonal hunger and food shortages.

Facts and figures

219,873
Our programmes in Central America reached over 200,000 people in 2020.
33,816
Our teams in Central America distributed over 30,000 hygiene kits in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
28,000
Guatemala's Ministry of Health recorded 28,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition in children under five in 2020.

Action Against Hunger’s programmes in Central America

In 2020, our work in Central America included:

coordinating the work of local and international organisations to provide food assistance to 97,154 people in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador
distributing Covid-19 hygiene and prevention kits to over 30,000 people
supplying clean water to 150,000 people in Guatemala
providing hygiene kits to 1,200 Guatemalan migrants affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota
providing safe water to more than 5,000 people affected by the hurricanes at the end of 2020
launching start-ups linked to tourism and the food sector that have so far benefitted more than 50 families in one of the poorest areas of Nicaragua

A child is screened for malnutrition at an Action Against Hunger treatment centre in Guatemala.

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Colombia

Man standing in fields holding up crops that have died.

Years of violence and conflict have displaced rural communities in this South American country, causing multiple humanitarian crises.

Improving livelihoods

Haiti

Natural disasters, political insecurity and a lack of food have a huge impact on poor and vulnerable communities.

Increasing access to food

Peru

Despite strong economic growth during recent years, the gap in wealth between urban and rural areas of Peru is growing.

Tackling malnutrition