The United States ambassador to Guatemala, Tobin Bradley, made the call to the private sector to join the task of placing cement floors in the homes of Guatemalans that still have land of land, to provide families with a healthy environment.
With this change that seems lower, the prevention of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases is favored, which affect child malnutrition, a work that is done through the hand -to -hand government initiative and with the support of various sectors that have joined the effort.
Bradley, during an activity in his ambassador residence, said that in the country many children still live on dirt floor, which is not only an infrastructure problem but of health, development and opportunities, and that the solution can be simple: a cement floor.
He indicated that the United States is supporting the country in large projects such as modernizing Puerto Quetzal, which will have an impact on the region, but that will take time; however, An cement floor, which is an investment of less than US $ 500, has an immediate impact.
With the Public-Private Alliance there has been positive changes, such as what was achieved in San Gaspar Ixchil, Huehuetenango, which last November became the first free municipality of land floors in the country, and on April 30 Santiago Chimaltenango, Huehuetenango, like the second. In the achievements the household initiative has been involved.
From that account, the American ambassador invited companies, Oenegés, Iglesias, Foundations and everyone who wants to get involved in that initiative, supporting financially, with volunteers, with time, experience, with logistics, so that the most vulnerable Guatemalan homes can live with dignity.
“It’s time to multiply our efforts,” he said during an activity in the Ambassador residence, held on the night of May 27, and added: “Every granite counts to build a more dignified, safe and prosperous guatemala. One floor at the same time, one community at the same time,” he said
For his part, President Bernardo Arévalo mentioned that En El País 26.5% of families live on dirt floor, A condition that symbolizes a circle of poverty that limits family development.
With hand in hand it has been possible to place more than six thousand 500 cement floors in Huehuetenango, Quiché and Chiquimula, so there are already two free municipalities of land floor and in June the third will be added, which will be Colotenango. In this effort, community members also participate, who have become protagonists of their own development.
Abelardo Pinto, head of the Ministry of Social Development, indicated that the replacement of land floors by concrete is a direct, visible and transformative intervention, capable of reducing up to 78% parasitic diseases, in 49% cases of child diarrhea and 81% anemia. He added that this action also represents an act of social justice for families.
“Every granite counts to build a more dignified, safe and prosperous Guatemala. One floor at the same time, one community at the same time.”
Tobin Bradley, US ambassador to Guatemala
The government’s goal is to replace more than 45 thousand floors this year, which requires a country effort, and cannot be done alone, and that when the State, the private sector, international cooperation, municipal authorities and communities are involved, the results are sustainable and transformative.
María José Paiz, from Banco Industrial, explained: “This is a country initiative. It is that we all put not only an economic issue, but a will for this to become efficient,” he said.
Country reality
In Guatemala, About 840 thousand homes have a dirt flooraccording to the population and housing census 2018. Alta Verapaz is the most affected department, since six out of 10 families live in this condition.
The situation is closely related to the levels of poverty that are recorded in the town, since the National Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi) 2023 places the poverty index in 90.3%.
Other departments with a high percentage of houses with land floor are Quiché, with 51%, and Huehuetenango, with 41.1%. Both also include among the territories with the highest poverty index: 86.4% in Quiché and 81.3% in Huehuetenango.
In response to this problem, the hand -to -hand initiative works in 114 prioritized municipalities, where the replacement of land floors with cement is one of the key interventions.