Guatemala

Following torrential rains in Guatemala and Honduras, MSF has been providing relief items and medical consultations to displaced people.

This crisis could have been prevented but the major player involved, the Brazilian Ministry of Health, has shirked its responsibilities and is evidently unwilling to overcome the various challenges. 

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) and is transmitted mainly by insects called triatomines, also known as ‘assassin bugs’ or ‘kissing bugs’. It is endemic in 21 Latin American countries and cases have also been reported in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

Guatemalans barely had time to recover from the eruption of Volcano Pacaya on the evening of May 27 before Tropical Storm Agatha slammed into the country hours later.

In Guatemala, drug trafficking, gang violence, and a climate of impunity lead to widespread rape of women. At least 10,000 women were victims of sexual violence last year.

Maria will never forget this day in November for the rest of her life. She was sitting in a bus, five blocks away from her home, when a black car blocked the road. Two masked men entered the bus and put a gun at Maria’s head.

Esther, 17, was raped at 8 o'clock in the morning at a public bus stop in Guatemala City. Two months later she is struggling to find a way back to normalcy.

"The first night was very difficult. I had dreams about what happened to me. I cried a lot. I couldn’t sleep for a few nights. I was scared to have dreams about it, and it might come back. I see in my dreams the moment when he pushed me against the wall and lifted my skirt. . . I had the image of his face in my mind. I will never forget that. He was fat, dark with long hair, with a moustache."

Millions of people are infected with Chagas disease yet they do not know. They can die in silence, without asking for help, without knowing why. It's time to act: diagnose and treat now!

More than 10,000 cases of sexual violence were reported to the authorities in 2008, with 4,600 of these cases occurring in the districts of Guatemala City, where MSF runs a program to assist such victims.

In late December 2006, after four years of treating people living with HIV/AIDS in Coatepec, MSF transferred that responsibility to the country's public health agencies. Preparation for the handover had been underway for more than a year. The transfer was implemented gradually, concluding only when the agencies taking responsibility were ready to ensure continuity of care. MSF continues to provide treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS in Puerto Barrios and Guatemala City.

Guatemala/Geneva, November 3, 2006 - On the occasion of the board meeting of the Global Fund to Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in Guatemala City, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for increased efforts from the government of Guatemala and the Global Fund to maintain treatment of patients living with HIV/AIDS and to expand coverage to those not currently under treatment in Guatemala, where an estimated 60 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS requiring treatment do not receive it, according to UNAIDS.

In October 2005, tens of thousands of people throughout Central America lost their homes, livelihoods, and access to clean water when Tropical Storm Stan struck the region. Laurent Dedieu, Logistics Supervisor for MSF-USA, oversaw MSF's emergency assistance program in Guatemala's Chinquimulilla region, Santa Rosa department.

Francisco Diaz, director of Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) logistics department in Paris, went to Guatemala to work with the MSF teams responding to Tropical Storm Stan. Here he speaks about the conditions he found and MSF's response.

Ten days after Tropical Storm Stan hit Guatemala and El Salvador Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have conducted assessments by land and helicopter covering most of the affected areas. Nearly 70 international and national staff are now assisting Guatemalans affected by the flooding and landslides.

MSF has dispatched more than 60 international and national staff to assist Guatemalans affected by the flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Stan. MSF is now providing relief in the most-affected areas of the country and has made donations of first-aid kits and potable water. Teams are working in the Retaluhleu, Escuintla, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, and Solola departments, and Coatepeque city.

Geneva/Guatemala City, November 26, 2004 - The Guatemalan Congress's repeal of a law that severely restricts people's access to affordable essential medicines is a positive step forward. The international humanitarian medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today that the government of Guatemala should now take advantage of this decision to ensure treatment for greater numbers of Guatemalans living with HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. But MSF also warned that this step forward could be undermined and reversed by similar provisions included in the recently signed United States-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).