AMERICAS
Guatemala

The Population Council’s involvement in Guatemala began in 1985 with the USAID-funded operations research and technical assistance project in Latin America and the Caribbean (INOPAL I).

Using a socio-drama that they prepared for a conference, these indigenous Guatemalan girls shared their thoughts about participating in a Council project.

Program Focus

Population Council activities in Guatemala began with operations research to increase access to underused contraceptive methods, especially among the indigenous population. Following the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, the Council’s focus broadened to include quality of care, strengthening the capacity of local institutions to conduct operations research as a means of improving services, adolescents’ reproductive health, and livelihoods among indigenous populations. The Council currently is involved in a project to empower indigenous girls by increasing their social support networks and mobility. Future activities are expected to include linking reproductive health services with educational and work opportunities, creating a more supportive environment for youth in indigenous communities, and involving parents and males in programs for adolescents.

Highlights of Past and Present Work

• Helped to alter opinion on contraception by showing policymakers and service providers the perceptions and needs of community members.
• Developed instruments and tools that have been incorporated into the service delivery norms of Guatemala.
• Tested the feasibility of inputs that have become components of national reproductive health policy and practice, such as postpartum and postabortion contraception, systematic screening for reproductive health service needs, and provision of injectable contraceptives by paramedical staff.
• Strengthened the management and service delivery capabilities of NGOs by forming a reproductive health professional community and training indigenous professionals.
• Developed the “Balanced Counseling Model,” a tool for family planning service providers that is now considered “best practice” in helping women choose a contraceptive method.

Selected Projects

Current

• Empowering Indigenous Girls in Guatemala (8/04–6/07)

Completed

• Creating Opportunities for Mayan Adolescent Girls (completed 8/06)
• Migration and Sexually Transmitted Infections (Including HIV and AIDS) in the Americas: Lessons Learned and Recommendations (completed 8/06)
• Where is the "MAN" in Maternal and Child Health? Improving Male Participation and Social Support in Family Health at the Community Level in Rural Guatemala

• FRONTIERS projects

  • Expanding Access to Vasectomy Services in Guatemala (completed 8/05)
  • Increasing Access to Long-term Contraceptives Through the Ministry of Health in Guatemala (completed 1/05)
  • Scaling Up a Successful Counseling Model (completed 12/03)
  • Developing and Testing a Supervision Instrument of Postabortion Care (PAC) Services in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Mexico (completed 9/03)
  • Informing the Medical Community in Guatemala About Emergency Contraception (completed 9/03)
  • Improving Client Informed Choice for Postpartum/Postabortion Clients (completed 12/02)
  • Using an Algorithm to Improve Family Planning Counseling at Rural Clinics (completed 11/02)
  • Availability and Acceptability of Intrauterine Devices in Guatemala (completed 3/02)
  • Reproductive Health Care in the Postnatal Period (completed 10/01)
  • Willingness-to-pay Study in Guatemalan Association for the Well-being of the Family (APROFAM) (completed 3/01)
  • Setting Prices for Reproductive Health Services in a Public Hospital in Guatemala (completed 12/00)

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See Also

• Contact Information for Guatemala
• Publications/Resources on Guatemala

• "The Population Council in Latin America and the Caribbean," 2008 brochure (PDF) (PDF en español)

• Transitions to Adulthood

Offsite Link

• PBS NOW's "Child Brides: Stolen Lives" documentary showcases Council efforts to improve opportunities for Mayan girls in Guatemala. (more) (offsite link to documentary)

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