Fighting Malnutrition: From India to Guatemala
Goal: Halting malnutrition in Guatemala.
Connection: In January 2012, Central American Leadership Initiative Fellow Juan Carlos Paiz touched down bleary eyed after 40 hours of travel from Guatemala City to Kerala, India. He was looking forward to spending time with Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellows from ten different countries during his Leading in an Era of Globalization seminar. What he didn’t expect was to have a breakthrough on a challenge that had plagued him for years: malnutrition. Meeting Manoj Kumar, an India Leadership Initiative Fellow and the CEO of the Naandi Foundation, provided the spark. Juan Carlos explains, “My connection with Manoj helped me see the issue from a different perspective and try new strategies.”
Collaboration: Juan Carlos returned to Guatemala inspired by Manoj’s work on malnutrition in India. He explains, “When I met Manoj, I had followed malnutrition and poverty in Guatemala for 14 years. I felt I had tried everything. For this complex issue, I needed international best practices and resources to scale solutions to the level of the problem.” In particular, Juan Carlos focused on the need to look for more public-private partnerships. Manoj introduced him to his contacts at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), who backed a summit of the 100 top NGOs in Guatemala working on malnutrition along with USAID. Juan Carlos then led the effort to qualify Guatemala for Millennium Challenge Corporation challenge grants. He also broadened his focus to raise funds for key infrastructure projects to improve the business climate in Guatemala and grow the economy.
Impact: As a result of new connections from Manoj and his renewed commitment to this work, Juan Carlos raised more than $8.4 billion to stem malnutrition and improve infrastructure in Guatemala.
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