In 2016, PAHO and Canada created the Integrated Health Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (IHSLAC) Project. One of its objectives is to support initiatives and programs to reduce maternal deaths in 11 countries in the region.
PAHO and Canada support efforts to reduce teen pregnancy through the Canada Project. This includes training health professionals in insertion and counseling for long-lasting implants and IUD's.
In Guyana, of all of the total pregnancies, 22.4% of the total pregnancies are from adolescents. That means almost over 1 out of every 5 pregnant women happen to be adolescent. We need to do more." - Dr. Adu Krow, PAHO PWR for Guyana.
Through the IHSLAC Project, PAHO and Canada are encouraging women to continue their education and professional training. When adolescent mothers visit the clinic for family planning, there are opportunities to discuss how they can pursue an education and have a career as an adolescent mother. All activities implemented by the project are designed with the objective of empowering women in alignment with Canada's International Feminist Assistance Policy.
Since 2016, the PAHO-Canada IHSLAC Project has provided more than 1100 methods of family planning to Guyanese women.
The training of health personnel is one of the key interventions supported by the PAHO and Canadian partnership as part of the Integrated Health Systems Project in Latin America and the Caribbean (IHSLAC) and in collaboration with Jhpiego.
The hormonal implant is one of the longer-acting reversible contraceptives that is incredibly effective, simple and safe. Many women choose implants because they are easy and simple to use. If women do not like a method, it can be removed.
"If I have a problem at home and I come to the clinic, I find peace and I find love, they make me smile. They will even give me a lot of courage... I would like to further my education and to become the nurse or the doctor that I wanted to be" - Mary Joseph, Adolescent Mother (Georgetown, Guyana)
"The talk that they gave to me, I really enjoyed it and it was like, you know, ok I'm not ready for a second child. I am going to try as much as I can to prevent it... I want my own business and I know they say you have to work to get it, so I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure I have my own business in the future." - Selina Roberts, Adolescent Mother (Georgetown, Guyana).
