INNOVATION AWARD HONOR!

We are so proud and excited to share that Chief Medical Officer Dra.Waleska López Canú and our Mobile Maternal & Infant Health Program received this year’s prize for health in Guatemala’s National Secretariat of Science and Technology (SENACYT) National Innovation Awards! The winners (one in each of 5 categories) were selected from 141 entries.

The Mobile Maternal & Infant Health Program, which saves mothers’ and babies’ lives by working with indigenous midwives and care navigators to support healthy births in rural communities, relies on strong collaboration with key partners, including midwives, safe+natal, and the Ministry of Health.

Congrats to the team and thank you to SENACYT for this honor!

SHOWING OUR WORK

We had a terrific time visiting team members and patients on this fall’s Insight Trip, which took us to our buzzing headquarters in Tecpán and surrounding villages; the Kaqchikel Maya archeological site of Iximche; Lake Atitlán and the gorgeous town of Santa Catarina Palopó; and finally, the stunning Day of the Dead Giant Kite Festival in Santiago, Sacatepéquez, the place where we got our start.

As always, the highlight was the families who were kind enough to invite us into their homes and share the extraordinary struggles and joys that come with fighting for the best possible health for their children in remote, underserved communities.

GETTING STRATEGIC

Leaders from our women’s health, nutrition, and chronic and complex care programs recently came together for a monitoring and evaluation planning session to assess what’s working and what needs to change in 2025. We conduct these SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) — or FODA (fortalezas, oportunidades, debilidades, y amenazas) —  exercises to strategize how to best use our resources to maximize our impact. 

MATYOX (THANK YOU) TO OUR MIDWIFE PARTNERS!

Our Mobile Maternal & Infant Health team recently hosted a holiday gathering in Tecpán to celebrate the midwives who are at the center of our work supporting safe and healthy births.

Many of our midwife partners helped to design the Mayan Kaqchikel phone application they use to help monitor mothers’ health and provide timely care. Thanks to the program’s great success, we are working to double the number of midwife partners to 80 so together we can cover more births and save more lives in the Tecpán region. 

In the meantime, the celebration was a time to share some fun, joy, and fellowship. The event ended with words of gratitude from our team, highlighting the importance of continuing to care for patients during the holiday season. Some of the midwives also shared a few words. “We are very grateful to you for helping us in so many ways, thank you for your patience with us, you have taught us a lot,” said midwife Rufina Suar.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

We’ve had the privilege of sharing our research and experiences as well as learning from others in a variety of forums this fall.

Among the highlights: 

Chief Medical Officer, Dra. Waleska López Canú, former volunteer and medical student Jackie Diaz, and Christine O’Dea, who leads our collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, presented at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Global Health Summit in Phoenix in September. In a talk entitled “Your Partner Should be Your Role Model,” they shared insights on how our indigenous-led Guatemalan nonprofit prioritizes anti-colonial values while building a lasting partnership with a US academic medical center, the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Medicine.

Chief Science Officer Dr. Peter Rohloff and Dra. López Canú presented on Overcoming Health Inequities for Maya Populations for the Harvard Global Health Institute Global Health Coffee Session, October 25.  They focused on our work addressing high maternal-infant morbidity and mortality, heat-related injuries in agricultural workers, and other critical health issues faced by Guatemala’s Maya population.

In November, Dr. Rohloff and Community Ethics and Engagement Coordinator Karyn Choy presented on Working with Indigenous and Minority Communities at The National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center Global Brain Network Meeting in Rockville, Maryland. Karyn checks in via video here!