Get to know our team
Working together to #ReachAll
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At UNICEF Guatemala we are firmly committed to ensuring the protection, survival and full development of every boy and girl in the country. Inspired by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we work tirelessly to mobilize efforts and resources with the firm purpose of placing children, adolescents and young people at the centre of every policy and action implemented.
We reach out in solidarity in times of emergency, always advocating for equity, with a particular focus on girls and women, who constitute the fundamental pillars of our communities. On this journey, each member of UNICEF Guatemala carries in her or his heart the passion and unwavering commitment to realize the rights of all children, adolescents and young people everywhere and always.
Our work is a faithful reflection of unwavering values such as care, respect, integrity, trust, responsibility and sustainability. We are convinced that by strengthening the present of each girl, boy and adolescent we are building a prosperous and hopeful future for the nation.
We move forward with determination, aware of the significant impact we can generate in the lives of each boy and girl. We invite every individual to join us on this transformative journey, and to be part of building a brighter and more equitable future for Guatemala.
Management
Our management team is responsible for guiding and accelerating outcomes for each child and adolescent, bringing them up to scale, using human, technical and financial resources in an efficient and transparent manner; and managing partnerships at the global, regional and national level to bring about more and greater impact for children.
Alejandra Trossero
Representative
Vincenzo Placco
Deputy Representative
Flor Rivas
Operations Manager
Health and nutrition
The health and nutrition team aims to ensure the rights of all girls, boys, adolescents and women to universal access to quality and covered health and nutrition services, including social and behavioural change interventions for improving health and nutrition practices.
In Guatemala, one in two girls and boys under five years of age is chronically malnourished. With the aim of reducing all forms of malnutrition and addressing the triple burden of malnutrition (chronic malnutrition and water, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight and obesity), our team ensures the protection and promotion of nutritious, affordable, sustainable, safe and diverse diets following a systems approach.
We likewise advocate for and support the design and implementation of a primary health care system, with emphasis on reducing maternal and neonatal deaths, increasing immunization coverage, improving health services for adolescents and people with disabilities, and mental health promotion.
Water, sanitation and hygiene and climate resilience
We seek to expand and strengthen access to quality water, sanitation and hygiene services for children and their families, concentrating our efforts on strengthening the capacities of authorities, communities and other key actors, such as the private sector, as well as promoting correct hygiene and sanitation practices in homes, communities and health centres.
Using the Total and Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene methodology (known by its Spanish acronym as SAHTOSO), we seek to ensure that all municipalities in the country are certified to achieve the elimination of Environmental Faecal Pollution (known by its Spanish acronym as ECOFAM). We also help strengthen water, sanitation and hygiene governance, including the development and implementation of policies and the improvement of information systems.
We also work to promote and expand programmes and policies resilient to climate change based on the risks and needs of girls, boys and their families to promote their sustainable development and resilience, that of communities and essential services such as education and health, which are vital for reducing their vulnerability to climate, the environment and the risk of natural disasters. We support strengthening the capacities of the Government, municipalities, communities and other actors such as the private sector.
We support adolescents and young people so that they can participate in discussion platforms, ensuring that decision makers consider their opinions on climate change and the environment. We work with national partners to promote information, education and behaviour change in relation to climate change, the environment, the use of renewable energy and disaster risk reduction.
Education
We prioritize the promotion and universal access to education with quality, equity and cultural relevance. We focus on early education, which goes from birth to four years of age, and includes their families, to lay the foundations and ensure the best development of their potential and success upon entering pre-primary and primary education.
We promote the completion of primary and secondary education, expanding early access, improving reading and writing. We also prioritize interventions that provide training and care to adolescents and young people so that they can return to school and subsequently enter a competitive work environment.
Child protection
We ensure the prevention, protection and care of girls, boys and adolescents against abuse, mistreatment, exploitation and violence, promoting the development of protective environments at the family, community, municipal, departmental and national level. At the same time, we promote timely access to and strengthening of quality services.
Additionally, we advocate for and support legislative reforms that allow national legislation to be harmonized with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the development of a specialized justice system for children and adolescents that ensures their safety and development.
Social policy and social protection
We seek to guarantee universal access to essential services for children, adolescents and their homes, which includes water, sanitation, education, health, nutrition, protection against violence and social protection for families living in poverty and those facing emergencies or humanitarian situations.
At the same time, we support the Government to achieve more and better public spending that is sufficient, of quality and inclusive. We help promote policies and programmes and strengthen the capacities of public officials for fostering equitable and efficient public management.
Operations
The Operations Team at UNICEF drives our mission to protect and promote children's rights throughout the country.
The team, made up of professionals in key areas such as administration, finance, procurement, information technology and human resource management, ensures that each resource is used efficiently and transparently.
Its commitment to the highest international standards ensures that each donation and resource is managed with the utmost responsibility. As guardians of the integrity and effectiveness of our programmes, we work tirelessly behind the scenes with a spark that ignites hope for the future of the girls and boys who need it most.
Cross-cutting areas
Our team includes an effectiveness component with professionals to reinforce the intersectoral lines of work aimed at giving greater impetus to outcomes for children and ensuring that issues related to them are given a prominent place and priority in the national budget and political and social agenda.
Our cross-cutting areas are Social and Behaviour Change, Development Technologies and Innovations, Monitoring and Evaluation, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Business Results for Children, Advocacy and Communication and Fundraising.