Guatemala

Guatemala

For more than 25 years, we have worked in Guatemala to strengthen the leadership, management, and governance capacity of local nongovernmental organizations, improving the quality of family planning, reproductive health, and maternal and child health care.

A pregnant woman in Guatemala waiting to receive antenatal care.

Utz’ Na’n Continues to Enhance Maternal and Infant Health in Guatemala

The Healthy Mothers and Babies in Guatemala project (2021–2027), known locally as Utz’ Na’n, is dedicated to improving the health of Indigenous pregnant women, mothers, and their newborns in the departments of Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Sololá, and Totonicapán. The project focuses on increasing access to and use of high-quality, culturally respectful antenatal care and postnatal care services, ensuring that women receive the care they need during pregnancy and beyond. 

Overview

Our programs in Guatemala have provided technical assistance to the country’s integrated health care system, including management training for district health staff, and improved the quality of, access to, and use of health services at all levels of care. To help address the high maternal mortality rate among indigenous women living in Guatemala’s Quetzaltenango department, we are working to improve women’s access to quality, convenient, and culturally respectful antenatal care services.  

Working in partnership with national health authorities, local partners, and traditional midwives, a group ANC model was introduced in Guatemala in which pregnant women come together to share experiences, receive information from a health provider, form social bonds, and track the progress of their pregnancies. As the 2020 coronavirus pandemic reached Guatemala, MSH staff had to adapt to lockdowns and social distancing measures. Learn about some of the strategies employed to support health facilities and midwives to maintain continuous ANC services throughout the pandemic.

Job Opportunities in Guatemala

Join us as we help solve the world’s public health challenges through innovation, dedication, and technical excellence. We are looking for talented, passionate people to join us—as employees, consultants, and interns—in advancing our mission to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.