Traditional Midwives & HIV/AIDS Prevention In Guatemala: Promoting New Approaches To Reproductive Health

Public health programs in Latin America are seeking to enhance the role of traditional midwives by encouraging their participation in reproductive health, with a special focus on birth and delivery. In Guatemala, given the potential coverage of the underserved indigenous population, participation of traditional midwives has been piloted to help improve the coverage and quality of services offered to these populations to reduce maternal mortality and improve pre- and post-natal care. Nevertheless, little emphasis is placed on the role of traditional midwives in the prevention and early diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. This is quite surprising considering the fact that the number of people affected by HIV/AIDS in Guatemala has increased in the last few years. The main objective of this study is to analyze the role of traditional midwives and the challenges to the utilization of traditional medical resources such as the traditional midwives within the national health system in relation to HIV/AIDS diagnosis and prevention