Overview
Our History
In Guatemala, Dr. Scott Cohen teaches wound care to health promoter Lucia.
Dr. Scott Cohen, a pediatrician and former Albert Schweitzer Fellow in Africa, founded Global Pediatric Alliance on a simple premise: empowering lay health workers through education will improve child and maternal health in poor, rural areas. In 2002, he volunteered at a health project in the eastern jungle of Guatemala where, as in most of Latin America, access to formal health services is limited and midwives and health promoters provide essential care. He recognized that training lay practitioners could empower them to increase, and sustain, the quality of care for women and children. Later that year, he established GPA to offer workshops in Western medicine for lay practitioners.
Today, we have expanded our focus to empower communities as well. We’ve met many grassroots groups that have the knowledge and motivation to find their own solutions to child and maternal health problems. What they lack is funding or technical expertise. In response, we created Grassroots Health Partnership Grants to support health projects designed by communities, for communities.
GPA’s evolution has been guided by our commitment to empowerment, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. With this focus, we continue to develop methods to help improve the lives of women and children in Latin America.
Our Mission
Global Pediatric Alliance seeks to promote grassroots empowerment and improve child and maternal health by providing educational, technical, and financial support for community-based health projects in Latin America.