Bridging the Maternal Health Gap in El Salvador

This semester, I have had the privilege of working on a foundational research analysis on the current status of maternal health in El Salvador. In doing so, I found that many Salvadorian women lack access to reproductive health, sexual health, family planning, and pre/post-natal care services. This disproportionately affects women in rural areas who live in communities with extremely limited resources to these aforementioned services. Although local municipalities in the more urbanized areas of El Salvador have established Ciudad Mujer — “a government- funded initiative to offer aid to victims of violence, as well as to provide access to women’s healthcare services, financial advice, and career training” — and it has shown positive impacts among women residing in urban areas, women in more rural areas continue to face challenges with the accessibility of these resources. For this reason, International HELP is working to develop a second-level certification program in maternal health for established community health workers in these areas.

“ International HELP is working to develop a second-level certification program in maternal health for established community health workers in these [rural] areas.”

“With experience, the [Ciudad Mujer] government program is not very accessible…some women have been waiting for over a year to receive their services”

Speaking with our on-site community partners, they have reported that although these programs set out to enact positive change within the accessibility of maternal health resources, there are many challenges that inhibit women in rural areas from partaking in these programs. One of our community partner has shared the experiences she and several other women residing in rural areas have had with the Ciudad Mujer program: “With experience, the program is not very accessible…before a training, it can take over three months to hear back…with the change in government, especially, some women have been waiting for over a year to receive their services. Rural women are also not accustomed to speaking freely about some of these topics, which — coupled with the extremely long waiting times — causes many to leave the program because they often find it to be a waste of time.” This emphasizes the need to train current community health workers in a second-level certification in maternal health.

Through education on these topics, we can help break the stigma against open conversations regarding women’s health. Most importantly, having trained community health workers in this specialty, will allow these women residing in more rural areas to obtain the resources they have lacked for far too long. Overall, in creating this second-level certification program, we at International HELP, strive to lower rates of infant mortality, at-risk births, unprotected sex, in hopes of positively impacting the health of children and mothers in these rural areas of El Salvador.

– Hector Medrano, Health Intern