Medical Trip Information

  • Next Trip: September 29th – October 10th, 2012
  • Location: Huehuetenango, Guatemala
  • Guatemala 2012 – Application Packet

Team Meetings

Medical Outreach Details

  • Guatemala 2012 – Application Packet
  • Partner: Helps International
  • Type of medicine offered: Surgery and Clinical Specialties
  • Volunteers needed: MD-Surgery, MD-Clinic, DDS, PA, RNP, RN, OD, ancillary medical staff, non-medical staff, translators, cooks & MacGyver’s

Country Profile:

Guatemala is a democratic republic located in Central America and is currently in the process of restoring its social system after several decades of armed conflict. With 13 million inhabitants, Guatemala is the most populous nation in Central America. The population is largely poor, rural, young and indigenous. It is a multiethnic nation with 23 linguistic groups. The birth rates are the highest in the region, with infant mortality the third highest in the Americas. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is growing, and the estimated incidence of tuberculosis is 1%. Guatemala also reports 60% of the Malaria cases in Central America. Approximately 30% of pregnant women have nutritional deficits and 68% of children under-5 suffer from chronic malnutrition in the indigenous populations. Food securities have worsened in recent years and pockets of populations with severe malnutrition have reappeared. Approximately 22% of the population lives on less than $1 per day.