Physical Health Guatemala Project #2501

Prevent and Detect Cervical Cancer in Guatemala

by WINGS

Prevent and Detect Cervical Cancer in Guatemala

Project Report | Oct 11, 2023
Unrest in Guatemala

By Eleanor Unsworth | Executive Director

Roads are blocked in and out of many communities

You have likely heard of the political tension taking place in Guatemala. It can be hard, though, to receive accurate and up-to-date information on the events here, as it is a quickly changing situation and for some time now there has been an attack on journalism in the country, with many journalists jailed or forced into exile. So, I would like to take a few moments to tell you about what is happening and how it is affecting us here at WINGS.

Last Monday, the indigenous organization, 48 Cantones, declared a nation-wide strike, demanding the resignation of the attorney general, María Consuelo Porras, prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, and judge Freddy Orellana, who have been interfering with the democratic process and peaceful transfer of power to the president elect. You can hear an English-language interview with the president-elect, Bernardo Arévalo, from last week here.

Throughout last week, the strikes gathered significant steam with tens of thousands of citizens protesting across the country. Nearly every major road all across the country was blocked starting last Wednesday, and we started hearing reports that electricity and access to gasoline and groceries was being interrupted in some communities. We canceled 12 mobile clinics last week due to roadblocks and to prioritize staff safety. All of our offices were closed on Friday as we watched and waited to see how things would progress. Over the weekend, the protests were peaceful and we decided we would keep our mobile teams at home today, but open our clinics in Antigua and Guatemala City, where our staff was able to safely get to work.

Today, the situation has intensified. Violent actors have infiltrated the peaceful protests. Businesses are being forced, under violence or threat of violence, to close all across the country. This morning, a group of hooded men stood outside our clinic in Guatemala City demanding that we close to the public. We did and our team members were able to return home safely, but as a consequence we have decided to close our clinics and offices in Guatemala City and Antigua and continue to keep our mobile teams at home. As the business day comes to a close here, we are reading reports that the airport is without fuel, major businesses like McDonalds have closed nationwide, and there have been armed attacks on water supplies to Guatemala City.

On Friday, when our team met virtually to discuss what was happening, our head nurse from Cobán, Ana, cried as she thanked us for allowing the team to stay at home while she watched her loved ones still have to risk their safety to go to work. We don't know what the weeks and months ahead may hold, but we need the comfort and support of our community now more than ever.

We hope deeply that this civil unrest will result in the guarantee of a new era of free democracy for Guatemala. And while we all work towards a brighter future for Guatemala, we will do what is in our hands to be respectful and responsible in the midst of a complex situation. We will do our best to take care of our team and of our patients. Thank you for standing with us during this difficult time.

In community,

Eleanor Unsworth she/her/ella
Executive Director/Directora Ejecutiva

Links:

interview with the president-elect, Bernardo Arevalo

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Jun 15, 2023
Alleviating fear & building trust

By Elissa Ladwig | Development & Communications Coordinator

Nurse provides education prior to clinic

The nurses on staff at WINGS often share patient stories that impacted them. This was one such story from our nurse in the Western Highlands, Tatiana:

On a recent clinic day, a patient had an abnormal result during her cervical cancer screening, meaning that precancerous lesions had been identified on her cervix. She had always been afraid to get tested, and upon hearing the results she was visibly distressed. Tatiana sat with the patient, taking time to explain the result and address her concerns. That’s when she started to cry, saying, “If only they had treated me like this at the hospital when my delivery became complicated, everything would have been different. I was traumatized because they treated me worse than an animal. I am scared to receive treatment, but I trust in God and I am confident in you.”

After receiving further information from the team, the patient felt more at ease and decided to undergo thermocoagulation treatment to address the lesion. WIth this technique, we are able to provide on-the-spot treatment of abnormal cells so that they do not progress to become cancer. As she prepared to leave, she expressed her desire to refer other patients to our services and requested our contact information so that she could organize a health campaign in her own community.

This woman is not alone; many of our patients have never received a cervical cancer screening or are scared to do so. We recognize the uncertainty and even fear that can come with any health screening result, and are proud to be able to offer real-time treatment, as well as rights-based, patient-centered counseling.

Thank you for your continued support as we work to reach the unreachable with these services. We couldn’t do it without you!

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Feb 15, 2023
2022 Recap - Cervical Cancer Screening

By Elissa Ladwig | Development and Communication Coordinator

A WINGS nurse during a clinic day in Izabal

2022 was a year of forward motion for WINGS. We were able to reactivate clinical services to near pre-pandemic levels and reinitiate the high-growth strategic plan that was paused during the pandemic.

Last year we screened 2,415 women for cervical cancer, bringing the total number we’ve screened since our inception to 71,696. Over 28% of the women screened in 2022 had never had a cervical cancer screening before. In keeping with national averages, just over 4% of all women screened have a positive test result and we provide them with immediate on-the-spot treatment with thermocoagulation. An additional 0.5% have results that require us to refer them for further treatment.

Our 2022 cervical cancer screening results of 2,415 women screened represents 79% of our projection for 2022. We hypothesize that the departure from our 2022 goal is due in part to an increase in government provision of cervical cancer screening. We are excited to see these advancements, which, if sustained, will enable us to focus our efforts on reaching more marginalized populations.

In addition to our reproductive health clinical services, last year we launched our second Youth Peer Education Program in Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela), the second largest city in Guatemala. This first cohort of Youth Leaders in Xela underwent year 1 of training, and began to provide community and one-on-one peer discussions, touching on themes of consent, relationships of power, and pregnancy prevention. We also began a second Community Advisory Board in the northern region of Alta Verapaz. This group of local community leaders act as a voice for their communities, conduct observations and provide recommendations to our team each year that we incorporate into our work plans to better serve communities. Both the addition of a Youth Peer Education Program in Xela and the addition of another Community Advisory Board complement the services we already provide in these regions, enabling us to reach more individuals in a comprehensive manner, with a focus on continuous quality improvement.

Your support was critical in achieving these goals. For that, we’d like to say muchas gracias. Thank you.

From the entire team at WINGS Guatemala

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