GPA's training program builds on the ancestral knowledge Indigenous midwives have passed down for generations
Traditional Midwife & Community Health Promoter Programs
In poor regions, where access to state health services is limited, traditional midwives, or birth attendants (TBAs), often provide initial and essential maternal and child health care. In many of the Indigenous communities where we work, at least 80% of births take place at home with the assistance of TBAs. Local community health workers provide valuable health services to families that live in rural, hard to reach areas and provide a grassroots, low-cost health solution. Both TBAs and community health providers serve as the first line of health and can create links and emergency planning for more high-level care during emergencies.
We support these important practitioners by offering workshops in evidence-based pediatric primary care, prenatal care, birth techniques and management, the recognition of risk factors and danger signs, and the integration of traditional medicine. Our training program, developed from an intercultural, gender-based perspective of care, recognizes and values these essential health workers as true specialists in their communities for caring for women, while also enriching their knowledge and practice with elements of Western Medicine. Our program also provides a space where midwives, who often work alone or with an apprentice, can exchange knowledge and share their experiences.
Programs Strengthening the Skills to Save Lives and Help Women Have Healthy Pregnancies
Traditional midwives in Cancuc, Mexico learn neonatal resuscitation as part of a GPA workshop
Over the past ten years, we have been collaborating with numerous communities to help strengthen the skills and accompany upwards of 1000 Tzeltal, Tzotzil and Maya-speaking midwives in the regions of Los Altos de Chiapas, Ocosingo, Sitalá, Yajalón, Chilón, Guaquitepec, Comitán and Altamirano, as well as the health districts of Mérida, Valladolid and Tekax, in the state of Yucatan. These are rural areas with isolated health care, where 88% of the population is poor and where a majority of people live in extreme poverty.
Our programs addresses comprehensive prenatal care; community and medical response to obstetric and neonatal emergencies; family planning, gender-based violence and gender inequality as they impact maternal health. We work with communities so that an action plan will be in place to refer mothers to health institutions when needed, and we are working with local authorities and health centers for Indigenous women to receive respectful and quality care. Our work to date has impacted more than 200,000 people.
Programs to Train Community Health Promoters and Community Health Teams
Health promoters in rural Guatemala are trained in lifesaving techniques, such as first aid and monitoring blood pressure
In many rural areas of Mexico and Guatemala, communities lack access to even the most basic health care. Transportation is scarce and reaching a medical center can take hours. When a mother or child experiences a health crisis, chances of survival are lower without immediate help.
GPA has been working with organizational and grassroots partners in Mexico and Guatemala to train teams of local frontline health care workers on prenatal care, obstetric emergencies, first aid, and respiratory and diarrheal diseases, as well as in the coordination of an emergency transportation fund for communities. Training of health workers in Guatemala and Mexico is giving thousands of families access to basic health care, often for the first time, and the opportunity for a healthier life.
Read more about our programs to strengthen Community Health Promoters here.