The department of Chiquimula is located in the northeast region of Guatemala at the border with Honduras and El Salvador. As a result of prolonged drought periods and irregular rainfall, families, especially in rural areas, have been affected by the limited availability of food from crops, which, together a few employment alternatives, have influenced the deterioration of the food security situation of respective households. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) is 3.3%.

The analyses undertaken during this Link NCA study allowed to identify 19 risk factors, believed to have an impact on the incidence of undernutrition in the study zone. Following a triangulation of data from diverse sources, seven (7) risk factors were identified as having a major impact, namely:

Low birth-spacing,

High fertility rate,

Poor sanitation facilities,

Low agricultural production,

Low income due to instability of income sources and/or lack of income generating activities,

Limited access to food and

Low food diversity.