Project Name：Project for the Promotion of Medical Technology for Improvement of Maternal-Neonatal Health in Guatemala (Phase II)

Project status：Projects in Operation

Cooperating Country：Central America, Guatemala

Project Description：

According to Guatemala’s National Development Strategy 2018-2032 (Plan Estratégico Institucional 2018-2032) and the 2021 Voluntary National Review III, improving maternal and child healthcare is a key priority for the country. Guatemala’s greatest challenges in this area stem from inadequate training, supplies and facilities for maternal and neonatal care. Contributing factors include: 1) insufficient care capabilities in secondary and tertiary medical institutions; and 2) insufficient medical personnel skill capacities in secondary and tertiary medical institutions. The latter factor alone makes it impossible to provide comprehensive care to pregnant women at any stage (including prenatal, labor, and postpartum) and also makes it difficult to detect early signs and symptoms in high-risk pregnant women. Greater capacity-building would lead to improved care and reduce the risk of preterm birth and newborn death.

Since April 2019, the TaiwanICDF has cooperated with the National Taiwan University Hospital and the Guatemalan Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS) to improve the nation’s care quality. The collaboration has improved care in several of Guatemela’s health institutions, including the Amatitlán National Hospital, the Amatitlán Maternity Center, the Cuilapa Regional Hospital, and the Cuilapa Maternity Center. Based on this successful experience, this project will continue cooperation with the Guatemalan MSPAS to extend the scope of our prior work to secondary and tertiary medical institutions in the central Guatemalan health area of the Guatemala Department and Chimaltenango Department. We intend to improve the quality of maternal and neonatal health care in this region by introducing medical technology to key medical institutions and providing capacity building for healthcare personnel in target areas.

The goals of this project include: (1) introducing medical technology to strengthen care functions in 17 secondary and tertiary medical institutions; and (2) strengthening the maternal-neonatal care capacities of medical personnel in these 17 secondary and tertiary medical institutions.

Project No：TH-120-2022-022

Region：Central America

Implementation Start Date：2023-05-24

Implementation End Date：2025-03-31

Project Objectives：

1. Introducing medical technology to strengthen care functions in 17 secondary and tertiary medical institutions.

(1) Introducing medical technology to strengthen care functions in at least 2 tertiary medical institutions.

(2) Introducing medical technology to strengthen care functions in at least 15 secondary medical institutions.

2. Strengthening the maternal-neonatal care capacities of medical personnel in these 17 secondary and tertiary medical institutions.

(1) Capacity building of maternal and neonatal health care for high-risk groups care and utilising medical technology.

(2) Developing  health education materials for maternal and neonatal health care. 

Executing Agency：

1.  International Cooperation and Development Fund

2. National Taiwan University Hospital

3. Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, Guatemala

Implementation Arrangement：

Members of the Project will provide technical assistance and assistance for capacity building.

Current Progress：

To the end of December 2023, the following activities have been carried out:

1. Introducing medical technology to strengthen care functions in 17 secondary and tertiary medical institutions.

(1) Completed procurement of 13 items of medical equipment and 23 items of medical supplies among 17 selected secondary and tertiary medical institutions and processing the medical equipment procurement accordingly. 

2. Strengthening the maternal-neonatal care capacities of medical personnel in these 17 secondary and tertiary medical institutions.

(1) 4 Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 3 pediatricians, and 1 nurse completed their training in maternal and neonatal care in Taiwan on October 23. They have returned to Guatemala and carried out 4 training workshops for 88 medical personnel.

(2) Completed 5 health workshops on maternal and neonatal care. 56 people have attended these workshops.

(3) Completed printing of 4,000 copies of maternal and neonatal health education leaflets. Produced 2 health education promotion videos.

(4) Completed printing 45,000 copies of maternal and infant health education manuals. Expecting to distribute these manuals in early 2024.

Project Performance：

Improve the functions of maternal and neonatal health care of the selected secondary and tertiary health facilities in the target areas of Guatemala

Project Contact：Feng Ta, Tsai

Phone：+886-2-28886061

E-mail：f.t.tsai@icdf.org.tw

Signing Date：2023-05-24

Cooperating Stakeholders：National Taiwan University Hospital / Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, Guatemala