Meet Andy, an 18-month-old infant from Guatemala. Our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), tells us, “Andy is the only child in his family and lives with his parents in a one-room adobe house with a tin roof. He enjoys playing with his cat and eating ramen noodles. His mother works at home, cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children. His father is a day laborer in the fields, who makes only a couple dollars per day.”
Andy was diagnosed with acute malnutrition. “Andy is below the average height and the average weight for his age,” WK reports, ”He currently is not consuming enough calories and enough quality foods. As a result his physical growth is stunted, and we worry his mental growth will be stunted as well.”
As a result of food insecurity and marginalization, indigenous Guatemalan villages have the highest rates of stunting in the world. In addition to growth stunting, malnutrition can lead to lower IQ, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
$512 will fund the treatment Andy needs to address his nutritional deficit and improve his low energy and subsequent limited mental potential. This involves micronutrient and food supplementation, deworming medication to rid Andy of a parasitic infection, and nutrition education for his parents. With these combined efforts, Andy will recoup his weight and height and strengthen his immune system, laying the foundation for a healthier future.