Six out of ten Central American women on their way through Mexico are victims of sexual violence, according to reports from Amnesty International.
Mexico and Central America's Northern Triangle, which covers El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, are facing a deep public security crisis. Homicide rates are among the highest globally.
Violence targeting and involving youth is one of Central America's most pressing problems.
Childhood obesity is a major global public health concern. Rates of obese and overweight children have increased in low- and middle-income countries such as Guatemala.
Expert advice and evidence-based research will guide policymakers' efforts to adopt effective fiscal policies to reduce demand for tobacco products in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Despite a consensus that organized crime in Latin America is growing in scope and geographic reach, there is little research on the impact of organized crime on social, economic, and democratic development.
Guatemala experiences significant food security problems and has one of the highest levels of chronic infant under-nutrition in the Western hemisphere.
Recent studies show that water shortages in Central America and the Caribbean will be aggravated by urban growth, high poverty rates, weak institutions, and insufficient investment in water and sanitation infrastructure.
Since the end of the debt crisis of the 1980s, Latin American governments have reduced deficits, lowered fiscal volatility, increased public expenditure and pioneered fiscal innovations.
Guatemala is at stage three of the five stages of the epidemiologic transition, which refers to the transition from infectious to chronic diseases as the leading cause of death.