Guatemala Strengthening communities: Health care and disaster preparedness Programs Guatemala is characterized by great poverty. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and weather extremes such as hurricanes and droughts caused by climate change have increased poverty and marginalization in the country in recent years and widened social and economic disparities in society. The nutritional situation in the country is also particularly critical: even before the Covid-19 pandemic, studies showed chronic malnutrition in 46.5% of children under the age of five. Devastatingly, food insecurity in Guatemala is not a temporary crisis, but a permanent condition - and is linked to widespread poverty and inadequate healthcare. Acute respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases are the most common causes of death in children - diseases that are treatable and therefore deaths that could be prevented. The joint project of action medeor and the local partner organization ASECSA focuses on rural communities that have no or only limited access to public healthcare. In particular, communities with a majority indigenous population where poverty is above average are selected. The partner organization ASECSA is a national umbrella organization consisting of more than 40 member organizations that are committed to improving healthcare and supporting women and young people. Since 2011, action medeor and ASECSA have been jointly implementing health projects in Guatemala. The aim of the project is to increase the resilience of people in 14 indigenous communities in a comprehensive manner. To achieve this, the project focuses on strengthening the communities' prevention and self-help skills. The project focuses on local health personnel: traditional midwives, health promoters and traditional therapists in their various specializations, who carry out preventive work, but also identify and treat simple illnesses. In addition, a functioning “referral system” between communities and the formal healthcare system is essential so that serious illnesses can be identified locally and seriously ill patients can be treated by qualified staff in health centers or the district hospital. The involvement of local health actors is also extremely important in the treatment of chronically ill patients. Through empowerment, training and education, people can take responsibility for their own state of health and, above all, for health-promoting behavior and a healthy environment and initiate and implement appropriate change processes. Through the various project measures, people are empowered to take care of their own health and that of particularly vulnerable community members and to take joint action to improve living conditions in their communities. This integral, resilience-oriented approach also includes the concrete improvement of living conditions and the skills to respond to crises and disasters on their own. Project descriptionProject Goal: Strong communities improve their health and disaster preparedness capacitiesProject Focus: Primary healthcare, disaster preparedness, water and hygieneTarget Group: Indirect Target Group: Approximately 10,486 people (families and community members of the direct beneficiaries) Direct Target Group: 3,294 people from the three municipalities (health promoters, midwives, therapists, individuals from the target communities, multipliers, as well as staff and volunteers of ASECSA member organizations)Project Area: Guatemala: 14 rural communities in the three municipalities of Purulhá, Rabinal, and San José Poaquil in the departments of Baja Verapaz and ChimaltenangoProject Activities: Retrofitting of 14 community health centers and expansion of medicinal plant gardens Training of health promoters, midwives, and therapists Awareness campaigns on COVID-19 prevention, promotion of sexual and reproductive rights, and prevention of teenage pregnancies WASH and hygiene awareness days Strengthening the organizational and technical capacities of the three ASECSA member organizations Implementation of a course for pharmacy assistants recognized by the Guatemalan Ministry of Health Development of disaster risk maps in 14 communities using the participatory disaster risk analysis method Establishment and application of monitoring communities within the early warning system for food security Raising awareness among the population about the identified forecasts for food security and water quality Implementation of microprojects by the target group related to disaster risk analysis Project Duration: November 2022 – September 2025Financial Volume: 653,764.60 EurosPartner Organisation: ASECSA (Asociación de Servicios Comunitarios de Salud)Funding: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)Project Number: 6000232 Your contact person Lea Ferno Programme Manager Guatemala Phone: +49 2156 9788-108 TPL_EMAIL This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.