In 2013–2014, FANTA and the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies supported the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance in estimating the cost of scaling up essential nutrition interventions in Guatemala to address the high level of chronic malnutrition among children. Using an activity-based costing (ABC) approach, it became apparent that only one-third of what was required for national nutrition services was funded in 2013, and greater investment in maternal and child nutrition services was imperative to achieve national objectives. A report and executive summary provided details on the exercise, and a manual on the ABC approach was developed to provide guidance on how to use and apply the ABC methodology for costing nutrition interventions.

In 2017, FANTA worked with the Guatemala Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SESAN) and stakeholders to develop evidence-based estimates for nutrition advocacy using the PROFILES tool. A snapshot of results from PROFILES show, if there is no change in the nutrition situation by 2026:

• More than 38,000 children will die related to stunting alone
• More than 70,000 children under 2 years will die related to inadequate breastfeeding practices
• More than 30,000 infants will die related to low birth weight
• 33 million equivalent school years of learning will be lost related to stunting
• Economic productivity losses will exceed Q146 billion (US$19.4 billion) related to stunting alone

In addition, FANTA led a multi-stakeholder collaborative process to develop a National Nutrition Advocacy Plan, which was endorsed by SESAN. Using results from PROFILES and other resources, FANTA also developed a PowerPoint presentation and a set of nutrition advocacy briefs that can be used to help raise awareness of the national and local government and civil society organizations of the need for greater investment to prevent chronic malnutrition and the urgency to take action to improve nutrition in Guatemala.

Activity-Based Costing:

• Rapid Guide for Activity-Based Costing (2016) (In Spanish)
• Executive Summary: The Cost of Essential Nutrition Interventions to Reduce Chronic Malnutrition in Guatemala (2015) (In English and Spanish)
• Report on Costing Nutrition Interventions in Guatemala (2014) (In Spanish)
• Activity-Based Costing Manual (2014) (In Spanish)

Reducing Malnutrition in Guatemala: Estimates to Support Nutrition Advocacy Guatemala PROFILES 2017:

• Summary (In English and in Spanish) 
• Full Report (In English and in Spanish)

Guatemala Nutrition Advocacy Plan (2018-2019):

• Advocacy Plan (In Spanish)

Advocacy Briefs:

• A Call to Action for Government to Invest in Nutrition (2017) (In English and in Spanish)
• A Call to Action for Civil Society to Advocate for Investment in Nutrition (2017) (In English and in Spanish)
• A Call to Action for Municipalities in Guatemala (2017) (In English and in Spanish)

PowerPoints:

• Nutrition Early in Life, An Investment for the Future: Advocating for a Guatemala without Chronic Malnutrition (2017) (In English and in Spanish, PowerPoints with notes available from SESAN) 

A Spanish-language video from FANTA and USAID/Guatemala raises awareness about the need for increased funding for nutrition and provides a call for action for government, civil society, and municipalities in Guatemala.