Reproductive Health Education & Services in Guatemala

World Centric + WINGS

$43,930 from profits from fiscal year 2021

This project supports these U.N. Sustainable Development goals

In Guatemala, 47% of children under five are chronically malnourished (80% in indigenous populations) and 80% of the indigenous population lives in poverty. Providing reproductive health services is fundamental to breaking the cycles of poverty and inequality that are present in Guatemala. Without the ability to plan and space pregnancies, families are often unable to meet the basic needs of all dependents. Increased access to family planning methods has been linked to better nutritional outcomes, increased educational attainment for girls, decreased migration, and decreased environmental implications.

WINGS Guatemala provides quality reproductive health education and services to underserved, primarily rural Guatemalan youth, women, and men. They take a holistic approach to reproductive health that recognizes the diverse barriers to exercising rights and engages community members to secure reproductive rights and bring their voices to the forefront of the decision-making process. Working in 14 predominantly rural, indigenous, and underserved provinces in Guatemala, WINGS collaborates with local partners to implement the following activities:

• Youth Peer Education Program - Training youth leaders to provide accurate reproductive health information and service referrals to their peers.
• Volunteer Promoter Network
• Reproductive Health Clinics
• Mobile Surgical Clinics

World Centric provides 100% of the funding required to run the Volunteer Promoter Network. We also fund all the costs for WINGS' Community Advisory Board.

Volunteer Promoter Network

One of WINGS’ longest-standing programs is their network of 30 Volunteer Health Promoters (Promotoras): community leaders identified within underserved rural areas to be a local point of service. Through their intimate linguistic and cultural knowledge of the communities they serve, they are able to provide quality contraceptive counseling, low-cost short-acting methods, and referrals to WINGS medical clinics for additional services. Promotoras participate in quarterly training sessions focused on increasing technical skills such as injection techniques, medical eligibility criteria, and expected side effects for each method, as well as rights-based counseling skills.

In 2022, WINGS’ Volunteer Promoter Network will provide:

• 4,681 quarterly injections
• 1,552 monthly injections
• 651 contraceptive pill packs
• 5,000 condoms

As estimated by the Marie Stopes Impact 2 demographic model, the distribution of these specific methods prevent 489 unintended pregnancies and prevent 2 child deaths.

Community Advisory Board

WINGS' Community Advisory Board (CAB) was established in 2021 through a grant from World Centric to ensure the meaningful inclusion of community voices in the organizations decision-making processes. The board includes representation from Youth Leader graduates, community partners, patients and volunteer promoters. They focus on improving WINGS' program design and evaluation.

About WINGS

A World Centric partner since 2021.

Founded in 2001, WINGS Guatemala is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides quality reproductive health education and services to underserved, primarily rural Guatemalan youth, women, and men. We take a holistic approach to reproductive health that recognizes the diverse barriers to exercising rights at the local level and engages community members, including indigenous women and girls, to secure reproductive rights and bring their voices to the forefront of the decision-making process.