Guatemala
Situation Report
According to the U.S. Agency for International Development an estimated 58% of Guatemalans live in poverty. The majority of the poorest are indigenous people of Mayan descent living in rural areas. Infant and maternal mortality rates among these groups are alarmingly high. Chronic malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years ranks as the highest in the Western Hemisphere at 49% and is as high as 75% in rural areas served by Medical Teams International projects. Less than half of Guatemala's rural residents have access to running water, a quarter have electricity at home and less than 10% have modern sanitary facilities. Dental decay is also a serious problem for many Guatemalans because access to dental care is limited and in the rural areas, nonexistent.
Our Work
Since 2004, we have deployed 15 dental teams to Guatemala. These volunteers provided restorative dental care and extractions, when needed, to 5,817 people. We have also trained 272 community health workers and school teachers in oral hygiene education.
In July 2008, Medical Teams International established a community health and nutrition project in partnership with Food for the Hungry. The project aims to advance the physical, social, emotional and spiritual health of families in the San Juan Chamelco municipality by improving:
- Household health practices and access to community health services
- Community water and sanitation services
- Food production and marketing practices
- Capacity of community and church leaders to better plan and implement development projects within their communities
Future Plans
Medical Teams International will send 5 dental teams, 1 medical team and 4 construction teams to Guatemala this year.
Our dental volunteers will work in partnership with Mercy Corps, to care for 1,200 people who do not have access to dental care. Four construction teams will improve water and sanitation systems in rural communities. One medical brigade will provide basic health care for patients in San Juan Chemelco who do not have access to regular health services.
Our Partners
- Food for the Hungry began working in
Guatemala in 1976. The organization operates innovative development
programs in 2 regions and 32 communities, assisting families, leaders
and churches in their struggle to overcome poverty.
- Mercy Corps' programs in Guatemala focus on strengthening the capacity of the indigenous Q'eqchi and Poq'omchi people to monitor their own populations’ health status, resolve land conflicts peacefully and provide health services through local channels.
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