Medical professionals from Guatemala will undergo training for maternal and child healthcare in Taiwan later this month. The training is part of a Taiwan-Guatemala maternal and child health program aimed at combating high maternal and infant mortality rates in Guatemala.
Guatemalan obstetricians, pediatricians, and nurses will arrive in Taiwan at the end of April for a two-month training program at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), covering courses related to high-risk obstetrics and pediatrics. Upon returning to Guatemala, they will conduct training sessions in their regions to train more maternal and child healthcare workers.
According to Guatemalan government statistics, the country's maternal and infant mortality rates both exceed the averages of Latin America and the Caribbean.
To improve the quality of maternal and child care in Guatemala, the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund technical mission in Guatemala has been cooperating with NTUH and Guatemala’s Health Ministry since 2019. From 2019 to 2022, the program successfully reduced the neonatal mortality rate at partnered medical institutions by 3% and has been extended to 17 medical institutions across the country. In addition to education and training, the program has also assisted medical institutions in Guatemala to upgrade medical equipment like ultrasounds, fetal monitors, vital sign monitors, and incubators.