With the majority of the population under the international poverty line, the children of Guatemala have grown accustomed to the severe lack of health care. The health coverage in Guatemala is so inefficient that it has been estimated that over forty percent of the entire population receive no health care services whatsoever. The majority of the population relies solely on self-treatment. The country has the lowest life expectancy rate in Central America, as well as the highest infant mortality rate. Abortion is illegal in Guatemala, unless it is deemed necessary to save the mother's life. However, this legal restriction is shown to be inefficient with an estimated three abortions for every three pregnancies. The percentage of government resources that goes toward a country's health care systems is a general measure of the level of concern the government has for the health care of its people. The eleven percent finance allotted for health care in Guatemala in 1998 shows that the focus of the government is not on the health of the population. In 1999, there were an estimated 0.9 physicians and one hospital bed per one thousand people in Guatemala.

The lack of access to many health care services contributes to the leading causes of death among the people of Guatemala, including pneumonia and intestinal infections. These illnesses could be easily prevented if more and improved health care services were available to the population. Immunizations against common diseases for children are given exclusively by professional practitioners, and the likelihood of children receiving treatment is directly related to economic and social status. The severe poverty is a major cause of malnutrition throughout the country. Inadequate nutrition contributes to over half of all deaths of Guatemalan children. The poorer half of the population was estimated as receiving less than sixty percent of its daily minimum caloric requirements in 1990. Few people have access to drinking water, especially in the more rural areas of Guatemala. The insufficient health care services that are being provided to the children of Guatemala need to be changed in order to accommodate the majority of the population who find themselves under the international poverty line.