More than 437 health professionals from 65 health posts and health centers on the South of Guatemala are trained with the “Health Comes First” program of the Sugar Foundation -Fundazucar- in alliance with the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance with the aim of promoting health preventive in the communities.

Since 2016 Fundazucar, in alliance with the Ministry of Health, has promoted the innovative program “Health Comes First”, which trains public health workers to develop technical skills and an attitude of service.

In addition, joint prevention actions are carried out against COVID-19 and vector-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika and / or chinkunguya through the education and training of human resources in the health sector and in the communities of the South of Guatemala.

Some of the actions that have been carried out as part of the “Health Comes First” program are:

  • Delivery of the Protocol “Plan for the prevention, containment and response to cases of COVID-19” from the Ministry of Health to 65 health services of the South of Guatemala.
  • Trainings for 500 health professionals distributed in 12 face-to-face and / or virtual training workshops on the COVID-19 protocol of the Ministry of Health and preventive health promotion, with an emphasis on the “1,000-day window” and diseases caused by vectors such as Zika, Dengue and Chinkunguya; with 93% attendance.
  • Technical support to health professionals for the use and updating of epidemiological data analysis, with the aim of developing a culture of analysis of the information produced for making timely decisions.

“The Guatemalan Sugar Industry promotes the development and well-being of the communities through a responsible operation and the execution of social programs aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals -SDG-“, affirmed Maria Silvia Pineda, Sustainability Manager of -Asazgua- and director of Fundazucar.