"One of our biggest milestones has been being able to sit down at the table civil society organizations, NGOs, international cooperation agencies and government institutions to analyze, each from its own point of view, how to reach a common goal: minimize the vulnerability of the Guatemalan population next year."
In this interview the Secretary of Food Security and Nutrition of the Presidency of Guatemala talks about the origins of the Secretariat and its evolution from the “Frente Nacional contra el Hambre” (National Front against Hunger) and the activities that have taken place until today.
¿How did the Frente Nacional contra el Hambre evolve into the Secretariat of Food Security and Nutrition?
The “Frente Nacional Contra el Hambre” was born to respond to the situation of food insecurity and malnutrition of Guatemala that had been studied for some 4 o 5 years. Since the beginning of our work we’ve realized that no public policies were in act to respond to the country’s hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. That’s why one of our first activities was to identify these public policies. We knew that government entities weren’t linked to the rest of the institutions of Guatemala. Many of these entities share the same sensibility, actions and priorities. Many carry-out the same activities using the same methodologies but without coordinating or sharing experiences amongst themselves.
The first priority was to create cohesion among the members and that’s why we created the “Cs” of the “Frente Nacional contra el Hambre”. The first C is Conocimiento (Knowledge): we need to know each other, know what is happening and know who the players are. Once we know each other we need to promote Communication among the actors. We need to promote a dialogue to learn about the initiatives taking place as well as the interests of each member. This third C should take place more at an interpersonal level rather than at an institutional level in order to reach the third C which is Confianza (Trust) between all the actors in the system in order to move forward. Once the trust is established Commitments can be made, who will do what. When commitments are carried out in an interinstitutional manner the Cohesion is achieved and better a Coordination and team work is the main result. If we do not respect the commitments made we break the trust and when we break trust everything is lost. That’s why trust is the core of the group.
What coordination mechanism has been developed within the secretariat?
It’s important to find platforms where you can meet. We think that the crises after Hurricane Stan accelerated all the processes we were going through. Our process is based on participation and coordination while sharing information and initiatives. Sometimes we aren’t very prone to cooperating because it implies giving up spaces and being co-responsible of initiatives and in many cases we are not interested or simply not willing to do such things.
During the emergency and with lack of funds, all actors were forced to sit down and collaborate because we were very vulnerable and we needed to be much more effective and the only way to do so is by negotiating.
One of our biggest milestones has been being able to sit down at the table civil society organizations, NGOs, international cooperation agencies and government institutions to analyze, each from its own point of view, how to reach a common goal: minimize the vulnerability of the Guatemalan population next year.
Can the National Alliances give strength to the initiative Latinamerica and the Carribean without Hunger 2025*?
They can definitely give strength to the initiative. It is very important to strengthen National Alliance to strengthen Regional Alliances. National Alliances have very strong elements: they reinforce the fight against hunger by making it more visible. One actor alone can never have as much impact as a network of partners. That’s why these networks should be stronger in order to share more information, success stories, carry-out initiatives and raise awareness. A sole actor cannot carry out so many important activities. A country can’t say that it is fighting against hunger if just the government is working or civil society is. It has to be an initiative in which all actors are committed.
* The initiative Latinamerica and the Carribbean without Hunger 2025 seeks to re-launch the fight against hunger and to eradicate hunger in the whole region (estimated at 53 million) starting by eliminating malnutrition for 3.5 million people per year. The initiative was launched by both the vice-president of Guatemala during the UN World Summit in September 2005 and Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula Da Silva during World Food Day 2005.
For more information on Guatemalan Secretariat for food security and nutrition visit their website at http://sesan.gob.gt/index.php
