Latin America's health alliance
The poorest communities in Central America have the lowest rates of health care. Maternal and neonatal mortality rates are a constant concern for governments and civil organizations working to reverse their negative effects.
On the other hand, teenage pregnancies before finishing school and inequity and access to health services are problems that need to be attended to at different levels.
Solution
This led to the creation of the Salud Mesoamérica initiative, a public-private partnership between the Carlos Slim Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Spain, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the governments of the seven Central American countries and the state of Chiapas, Mexico, which seeks to reduce the health gaps that exist in the Mesoamerican region, specifically in terms of maternal health, vaccination and child nutrition.
Results
The initiative has benefited 6.5 million people, including reproductive-age women and children under 5 years old in the most underserved communities of Central America and Chiapas.
Thanks to her, in the 7 Central American countries and in the Chiapas entity the availability of medical equipment for pregnancy care, the training of health personnel, the availability of medicines for childbirth care, and the availability of vaccines and supplements for the proper nutritional development of children have been improved.
After 18 months, such improvements have been between 10% and 100%. in the various indicators by nation. Examples of these are:
- In Belize, the proper management of neonatal complications increased from 7 al 88%.
- In El Salvador the 99% of births are now attended in well-equipped health units and by adequately trained professionals.
- In Honduras, the adequate care of obstetric complications has gone from 11 to 68%..
- We went from 22 to 75% of health units with an assured supply of essential supplies for maternal, neonatal and child care throughout the region.