Announcing Our Newest Community Health Partner: Primeros Pasos

Global Pediatric Alliance is pleased to announce our newest partner in our Community Designed Health Grants program—Primeros Pasos, a community-based health organization located in Llanos de Pinal, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Founded 22 years ago by a medical student from Nashville, TN, Primeros Pasos (Spanish for 'First Steps') began as a mobile clinic focused on reaching school-age children. Over time, the organization has expanded and is now operating a health clinic that provides medical, dental, and nutritional services to families in the Valley of Palajunoj, where 85% of the population lives in poverty, many in extreme poverty. Since inception Primeros Pasos has served over 15,000 children.

Primeros Pasos provides medical, dental & nutrition care in the Palajunoj Valley, Guatemala

Through this new partnership, Primeros Pasos will implement a nutrition and maternal-child health initiative in rural communities. The project aims to address the region’s high rates of child malnutrition in the Palajunoj Valley—among the most severe in Latin America—by providing:

• Nutritional assessments for women and children under age five.

• Attention to pregnant women suffering from malnutrition to improve nutritional health.

• Ongoing monitoring of child growth and maternal health.

• Workshops on preparing nutrient-rich meals using locally available foods.

• Home visits to support the establishment of family gardens with healthy foods like carrots, spinach, beets, tomatoes, cauliflower, radishes, broccoli, and onions.

• Mobile clinic services offering medical and dental care in rural communities.

With this initiative, Primeros Pasos expects to directly benefit 100 women and 100 children, with broader impacts across their communities. Recently the organization embarked on this work, successfully carrying out mobile clinic services in the community of Chuicaracoj.

This collaboration builds on our history of supporting locally designed health initiatives, such as our partnership with ADEMI, a woman-led organization in Guatemala focused on food security and maternal-child health.

Even a small investment in community-based projects can have a significant impact on the health of women and children.

Through the Community Designed Health Grants program, GPA provides financial and technical support to grassroots organizations in Mexico and Guatemala that are leading sustainable, community-driven health solutions. Over the past 10 years we’ve collaborated on 40 projects benefiting over 100,000 women, men and children. In 2025 we aim to expand our support for effective, community-based projects, and we hope you’ll partner with us.

We are honored to support Primeros Pasos in its essential work to improve maternal and child health in rural Guatemala.

To learn more about Primeros Pasos, visit their website at http://www.primerospasos.org/

And be sure to follow our ongoing efforts to strengthen community-led health initiatives at https://globalpediatricalliance.org