New findings from our 2nd round of data collection from #COVID19-related surveys of key informants in 10 indigenous communities in Guatemala tackle access to health facilities, social assistance, mental health, knowledge of symptoms, adoption of preventative practices & more:

Access to health facilities continues to be a challenge for Guatemalan indigenous communities: only 37% of informants have access to a health clinic in their community, and 54% would have to travel to the nearest municipal city if exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.

In terms of preventative measures, only 66% of respondents said that communities have access to hand washing or sanitizing stations. 80% of informants have purchased their own masks, 15% have received a mask for free from the government, and 13% are manufacturing their own masks.

By the end of July, only 26% of our informants from Guatemalan indigenous communities had received any form of social assistance. The biggest unmet needs as the country continues to face restrictions are food (61%) followed by money (39%), hygiene products (18%) & medicine (14%).

While food insecurity continues to loom, 74% of respondents reported increases in household expenses and 31% reported loss of income, exacerbating already stressful conditions. Over half of participants expressed feeling somewhat anxious (52%).

Learn more with in-depth findings and detailed recommendations for action from our Guatemalan colleagues via @dataverseorg : https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/30MVD1