50% of Guatemalans, mostly rural indigenous, live in inadequate housing (Center on Housing Rights and Equality). Between a million and a million and a half live in homes of cornstalks or scavenged materials.
Replacing dirt floors with cement results in – according to the Center of Evaluation for Global Action (CEGA) – 13% less diarrhea, a 20% reduction in anemia, scores 30% higher on language and communication skills for toddlers, and improvement of 9% on vocabulary. These improvements are due to fewer parasites in homes with cement floors.
