Guatemala

With initial startup funding from USAID, Ronald McDonald House Charities, the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation and many other generous donors, Impact Global Health Alliance has established a network of thousands of local Community Health Workers that reach local Mayan populations through the innovative Casa Maternas model.

The IGHA-G Casa Materna model of safe, culturally sensitive birthing centers utilizes a cadre of volunteers and women's care groups (moms teaching moms important health lessons such as breast-feeding, hygiene with lessons on hand washing and construction of latrines, kitchen gardens, vaccinations etc). This project has been visited and studied by health leaders from Haiti and Kenya.

This project uses a three-pronged approach to build a sustainable, community-owned health care program that serves impoverished communities: Health Education: Prevention is key to a healthy life, so Community Health Workers and volunteers meet with mothers in their homes to provide life-saving education. Health Services: On their regular community visits, Community Health Workers and volunteers provide basic care services like immunization, checkups, and distribution of vitamins and basic medicines. Empowering Communities: All sustainable programs need community involvement. Impact Global Health Alliance partners with community leaders and volunteers to best serve the needs of each project area.

The Impact Global Health Alliance-Guatemala project is located in one of the most isolated areas of Guatemala, the western highlands, where many communities cannot even be reached by car. This lack of access has led to an impoverished population with little resources to seek healthcare.

Since the beginning of the project, Impact Global Health Alliance-Guatemala has: reduced infant mortality by 35% in our project areas, built 4 Casa Materna Maternity Clinics to serve local communities, and decreased maternal mortality by 63%.