Guatemala’s government on Wednesday announced at least 62 children under age five have died of malnutrition so far this year, and “[n]early 9,800 youngsters have been diagnosed with chronic malnutrition, the secretary for food security, Luis Monterroso, told reporters,” Agencia EFE/GlobalPost reports. “Half of Guatemalan kids under five do not receive adequate nourishment on a regular basis, according to official statistics that also show 52 percent of the country’s 15 million people are living in poverty,” according to the news agency. “President Otto Perez Molina’s administration is implementing anti-poverty programs that will bear fruit in the coming months, Monterroso said,” EFE writes, adding, “The flagship program is an initiative to provide adequate nutrition and health care for mothers-to-be to reduce the incidence of low birth weight” (8/28).