13 million people in Guatemala do not have access to adequate basic sanitation
In Guatemala, investment in the water and sanitation sector represents less than 1% of the GDP, while the average for Latin America and the Caribbean is 1.6%. According to experts, more than 3 million people in the country do not have access to clean water.
The economic crisis and the deficit of health systems have deepened the inequalities in access to quality water and sanitation in Central American countries. In order to discuss this problem, the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), through the Center for Environmental Studies and Biodiversity (CEAB-UVG), the Sustainable Economic Observatory (OES-UVG), the Department of Biology of UVG and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) conducted the third edition of the International Water Forum.
The virtual event was held on August 24, 2022, and included the participation of speakers: Dr. Edwin Castellanos, Director of the OES-UVG; Engineer Eliette González, Specialist in Water Resources Management at the World Bank, and Engineer Laura Gómez, head of UNOPS Water and Sanitation Projects. More than 230 people from the public, private, civil society, academia, and international cooperation sectors participated in the event.
“In recent years, in Guatemala, public investments in water and sanitation management and treatment have increased from 3.3 billion quetzals in 2018 to 4 billion quetzals in 2021. On the other hand, 89% of the population have access to general water. However, these figures do not reflect the great inequalities we have, particularly in the rural areas, where access is still very limited,” said Dr. Edwin Castellanos of UVG.
In her presentation, World Bank Specialist Eliette González said that “While access to water is a human right, we must understand water as a relevant factor, with economic, social and environmental impacts and benefits, in providing water and sanitation services, managing water resources and water-related risks, such as droughts or floods. For example, water and its relation to human capital: Having quality water and sanitation reduces the probabilities of illnesses and death throughout the life cycle, resulting in a decrease in public spending on health, thus contributing to the development of a healthy and productive population”.
The World Bank staff member also noted that Guatemala has important challenges in the face of poverty levels, child malnutrition and governance of the water sector. “There are institutional, financing, and infrastructure gaps to provide quality services. Moreover, it is not only the lack of access to services, but the quality of water supplied through the supply systems, where the vast majority do not meet official standards,” added Engineer Gonzalez.
For her part, UNOPS staff member Engineer Laura Gomez highlighted the importance of “having rigorous pre-investment studies, analysis of operating and maintenance costs of water treatment and distribution systems, with technologies adapted to the needs of the communities”. This is based on the experiences achieved by a project to improve 70 rural aqueducts carried out in 24 municipalities of the country with resources from the International Bank, the Spanish Cooperation and its implementation by INFOM, with support from UNOPS, which benefited 184,000 people.
As part of the conclusions of the forum, Dr. Castellanos clarified that “in Guatemala we have had an abundance of water, but poorly managed. We must educate people because this is a finite resource. We have a lot of legislation, but we still have institutional and technical coordination limitations in water management.”
Participants at the 3rd Water Forum included international cooperation officials, ministries, NGOs, and specialized institutions, as well as the academic community, researchers and UVG students. The 3rd version of the Forum is available on the Facebook page of Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
Forum Recording. FB UVG Internationalization Coordination:
Written by:
![Fredy Salazar]()
Fredy Salazar
Communicator UNOPS
