World news story

UK donation helps Zacapa regional hospital to fight COVID-19

The UK government donated 432 quick COVID-19 tests to help Guatemala’s regional hospital in Zacapa.

• From: British Embassy Guatemala City
• Published: 13 October 2020

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

The Guatemalan Ministry of Health approved the donation and was processed into the country’s aid system by CONRED. This support is estimated to worth more than 250,000 quetzals.

As soon as the pandemic exploded, the UK invested in several projects in Guatemala aimed at tackling the impact of the COVID-19. Special assistance has been provided to:

1. Helping indigenous communities in Sololá to cover some of their basic food needs,
2. Training women leaders on health issues in Quiche, Huehuetenango and Alta Verapaz, and
3. Working with Agexport to encourage municipalities to develop and implement COVID-19 protocols and economic reactivation.

Currently, the UK government is working with Guatemala to secure the country’s access to a potential vaccine for COVID-19. We are encouraging governments around the world to support mechanisms such as COVAX and GAVI, to have access to the vaccines they need.

Published 13 October 2020