Advancing health and SRHR with Indigenous people in Quetzaltenango Guatemala

This project aims to increase access to and use of gender-responsive and culturally relevant health services in Indigenous communities in Quetzaltenango. Project activities include: (1) facilitating discussion groups with civil society organizations on analysis and advocacy on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) with public institutions; (2) launching an information and awareness campaign aimed at men on themes of respect and recognition of women’s contributions; (3) delivering courses on SRHR to journalists and social media communicators; (4) organizing motivational talks by well-known “champions” with an emphasis on women who have positively influenced youth culture; and (5) delivering courses to the health and public service sectors in SRHR and cultural relevance.

This project reaches 416 625 people directly and 300 000 indirectly. The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) training on gender responsive and culturally relevant healthcare approaches to healthcare workers. Also run public information campaigns on sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) to improve access to and awareness of health services by marginalized communities; (2) targeted workshops for parents youth Indigenous authorities and community leaders on comprehensive sexual education (CSE) themes. This includes gender equality and positive masculinity to increase intergenerational knowledge on SRHR; and (3) targeted advocacy campaigns working with midwives’ associations to promote SRHR ensure more effective strategies and resources increase dialogue between the health sector and government representatives and to reduce barriers for women and youth.