Addressing Parasitic Worms in Guatemala

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are among the most common infections worldwide and impact an estimated 1.5 billion people globally, or 24% of the world’s population.¹ STH infections impact low-income and low-resource communities that lack access to clean water, and some of the highest infection rates are reported in South and Central America.¹STH infections can lead to malnutrition, general malaise and weakness, and impaired growth and physical development.¹

Guatemala is a multicultural country with 44% of its inhabitants being indigenous Mayan.² The country is mountainous, with remote towns and villages spread across its high and lowlands. Despite its middle-income status, two-thirds of its population lives on less than $2(USD) per day, and among indigenous people, poverty averages 80%—leading to deprivation in multiple aspects, including food security, nutrition, health, and education.²

High rates of STH infection, coupled with issues of food access and security, contribute to stunting and, in Guatemala, 46.5% of children under 5 are stunted.² The prevalence of stunting in children under 5 in Guatemala is one of the highest in the world—and the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean.² While 46.5% represents the national average annually, stunting rates reach 70% in some regions, with peaks as high as 90% in the most impacted areas.²

Vitamin Angels works with local organizations in Guatemala that are committed to reducing the burden of STH. Through these partnerships, Vitamin Angels offers access to the critical deworming treatment Albendazole, as well as training for program partner’s service providers for safe and effective administration, and monitoring tools to enable tracking and evaluation.

The shared goal of The Worm Project and Vitamin Angels ensures we are working collaboratively to eradicate parasitic worm infections in the most underserved areas globally. We have been making great strides since the inception of our partnership in 2013.

We currently work with 4 program partners around the country and have distributed 15,000 doses of albendazole since 2021. Our program partners in Guatemala employ various strategies, such as the use of translators, working with community leaders and local service providers, and traveling to remote locations, all participatory efforts to reduce the barriers to access, a key component to promoting equitable access to Vitamin Angels’ nutrition interventions. Vitamin Angels’ Sr. Program Officer, Elizabeth Carerra notes, “Our deworming work in Guatemala has not only supported efforts to reduce parasitic worm infections but has also strengthened local community training and monitoring systems that can fuel effective regional deworming programs for generations to come.”

For two decades, The Worm Project has supported Vitamin Angels’ efforts to reach the most at-risk children with deworming medication, albendazole.

Since 2003, The Worm Project has donated a cumulative total of over 94 million doses of deworming medication helping Vitamin Angels provide lifesaving deworming treatment for over 94 million children around the world. In 2022, The Worm Project donated 9 million doses of albendazole, enabling Vitamin Angels to provide deworming treatment for approximately 9,000,000 children in 31 countries. Learn more about our partnership with The Worm Project.

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References

World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). Soil-transmitted helminth infections. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmitted-helminth-infections
World Food Program (2023). https://www.wfp.org/countries/guatemala#:~:text=At%2046.5%20percent%20nationally%2C%20the,unequal%20countries%20in%20Latin%20America.