Guatemala Grantee Profiles 2010

Organization: FESIRGUA (Asociacion Frente de Salud Infantil y Reproductiva de Guatemala)

Project Title: Generating Political Change through Empowered Indigenous Women

AGALI Fellow Verónica Buch and FESIRGUA are advocating with mayors of two Guatemalan highland towns to designate at least 2% of the annual municipal budget to specialized programs in sexual and reproductive health targeting adolescents and young people, and to create a commission on childhood, adolescence and youth. This project focuses on developing the advocacy skills of rural indigenous women and girls, community outreach to encourage their participation in the project, and direct lobbying with decision-makers to achieve concrete improvements in the SRH of adolescent girls and young people.

Organization: CONACMI (Asociación Nacional contra el Maltrato Infantil)

Project Title: “Integrated Care for Adolescent Girl Survivors of Sexual Violence in Guatemala”

Building on CONACMI’s many years of experience in fighting child abuse in Guatemala, AGALI Fellow Miguel Angel Lopez is monitoring the implementation of the national Sexual Violence Protocol, including detection, registration, and integrated care for adolescent girls who are survivors of sexual violence. The project was initiated in two major Guatemala City hospitals, and CONACMI is working to expand the project to hospitals around the country.

Organization: Aprofam (Asociación Pro Bienestar de la familia de Guatemala)

Project Title: “Prevention through Education: Integrated Education in Human Sexuality for Adolescent Girls”

Aprofam and AGALI Fellow Maria Lucia Escobar are advocating to improve the access of girl children and adolescent girls to integrated education in human sexuality and specific, specialized services for adolescents within the context of the Ministerial Declaration on “Prevention through Education,” and in accordance with the Family Planning Law of Guatemala. With additional support from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Aprofam is also working to strengthen the human sexuality education network at the national and Mesoamerican level, through the creation of two departmental networks that will engage in social auditing in relation to compliance with the “Prevention through Education” declaration.

Organization: Asociación IDEI

Project Title: “Democratic Participation of Adolescent Girls in the Elaboration and Execution of Integrated Public Policies”

Asociación IDEI and AGALI Fellow Juany Garcia are working in two Western Guatemala towns to promote the integrated development of adolescent girls in health, education, HIV, and domestic violence through the participation of girls and young women in government policy decisions. In coordination with the National Commission on Childhood and Adolescence, IDEI is promoting adolescent girls’ development through girls’ direct participation in consultation on and formulation of integrated public policies that benefit them. This project is building the capacity of girls to engage with the democratic process, and organizing community events and forums with government decision-makers to support the girls’ efforts to change local policy.

Organization: ChildFund Guatemala

Project Title: “I Love Myself, I Care for Myself”

In indigenous communities in Guatemala, ChildFund is implementing this education and health-focused advocacy initiative. The project, developed by AGALI Fellow Guillermo Leverman, is lobbying the regional health director to allocate financing to integrated health centers for adolescent girls, and working to ensure that the Guatemala Ministry of Education implements its program to provide sexual and reproductive health guides to local schools. A major component of this initiative is the training of adolescent girls and other youth activists on advocacy, and the encouragement of their meaningful participation in the project.

Organization: AGMM (Asociación Guatemalteca de Mujeres Médicas) and MISPAS (Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social)

Project Title: “Specialized Protocol for the Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescents and Increased Birth Spacing in Adolescent Mothers”

In collaboration with the Guatemalan Association of Women Doctors (AGMM), AGALI Fellows Lisette Vanegas and Maira Sandoval of the Guatemalan Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MISPAS) are working to prevent unwanted pregnancy in adolescent girls. The project is advocating with the Minister of Health to sign and implement the Protocol for the Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescents and Increased Birth Spacing in Adolescent Mothers. AGMM and MISPAS are also providing technical assistance in implementing the protocol at the national level, in addition to training groups of girls and youth organization representatives on SRH and advocacy.