Natural Disasters
Guatemala: After the earthquake
Press Release
6 Nov 2012
Guatemala
MSF started working in Guatemala in 1984 and closed its projects in 2012.
COVID-19 seriously affected general healthcare provision in Guatemala, due to a lack of medical staff and testing equipment.
In March, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) started to assist with the COVID-19 response in the town of La Gomera, in Escuintla department. After assessing the needs, we scaled up health promotion and mental health support to the Escuintla Ministry of Health, which only had three psychologists for the whole department.
We set up a mental health helpline to provide psychological support for health workers. These mental health activities were among the very few in the country aimed at reducing the effects of stress and anxiety produced by COVID-19.
We also assisted the local Ministry of Health with logistics for respiratory triage in La Gomera general healthcare clinic. This enabled the clinic to detect cases of COVID-19 among the local community and ensure patients received adequate medical care. In addition, we enlisted the help of people in the community to distribute health promotion materials with information about the virus and how to prevent its spread, as well as advice on protecting mental health, across the whole department.
No. staff in 2020: 1 (FTE) » Expenditure in 2020: €0.4 million. MSF first worked in the country: 1984