Evaluating and mitigating locally and nationally variable food security dynamics in Guatemala through participatory causal loop diagram building

Resumen:

Malnutrition, and more specifically undernutrition, occurs when one is not able to access nutritious food in sufficient amounts and is a problem which affects all regions of Guatemala, particularly children in rural homes. It manifests itself as stunting, wasting, underweight, or micronutrient deficiencies (World Health Organization, 2016). The absence of food security,
defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 2006), is an important driver of malnutrition, though other factors such as health, marginalization, climate change, and
lack of socioeconomic resources also play a major role (FAO, 2013; Singh, 2018).