Guatemala's Ministry of Health executed only 26.68% of the reproductive health budget through September 2026, according to a civil society organization

An infographic details that Guatemala's Ministry of Health had accrued 26.68% of reproductive health funds as of September 2026, according to data from the OSAR observatory. (Illustrative image Infobae)Guatemala's Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance had executed only 26.68% of the reproductive health budget as of September 30, 2026, the lowest level since 2019, while the purchase of contraceptives remained pending. Of the Q 141,518,000 (USD 18.5 million) allocated under Decree 21-2004, the ministry had accrued Q 37,761,104 (USD 4.9 million), according to the Observatory on Sexual and Reproductive Health (OSAR). At the same point in time, the country had recorded 168 maternal deaths, 90% of which were preventable. There were also 1,517 births to girls aged 10 to 14 and 42,892 to adolescents aged 15 to 19. Decree 21-2004 allocates 15% of the revenue collected through the tax on the distribution of alcoholic beverages to these programs. The law also establishes that, of those funds, at least 30% must be used exclusively to purchase contraceptive supplies, as provided in Article 19 of the Law on Universal and Equitable Access to Family Planning Services. Hospitals executed 40.33% of their resources: Q 12,305,726 out of Q 30,508,340 allocated. The Departmental Directorates of Integrated Health Service Networks, which include Central Administrative Unit 201, reached 22.93%, with Q 25,455,377 accrued out of Q 111,009,660. Within those directorates, Guatemala Nororiente executed none of the Q 529,000 allocated. San Marcos spent 5.4% of its Q 4.1 million, Suchitepéquez reached 17.3%, Quiché 20.4%, and Ixcán 16.6%. Jalapa, Retalhuleu, and Santa Rosa exceeded 85% execution. The gap between those departments and the units with zero or minimal progress marked the unequal distribution of family planning resources. The Central Administrative Directorate suffered a reduction during the year from Q 92.6 million to Q 62.5 million. Of the adjusted amount, it executed 12.57%, equivalent to Q 7.8 million. A woman holds a baby at a health center in Guatemala, where the ministry accrued 26.68% of reproductive health funds, according to OSAR. (Illustrative image Infobae)The line item for medicinal and pharmaceutical products, where the purchase of contraceptive methods is concentrated, received Q 20.4 million and recorded execution of only 4.27%, about Q 873,000. With 75% of the calendar year elapsed, OSAR pointed to gaps in planning and in the Ministry's administrative and financial procedures. The delays also extended to hospitals. The Roosevelt Hospital had Q 2.1 million for sanitary medical services but had executed no amount through September. The Western Regional Hospital likewise recorded no spending on the furniture and medical equipment line. The San Juan de Dios General Hospital, which received the largest allocation among the centers analyzed, Q 8.2 million, executed 34.3% and maintained 0% progress on chemical elements and compounds as well as furniture and equipment. The Huehuetenango Hospital accrued 10% of its allocated Q 2.3 million, while the Quiché hospital reached 32.35%. The observatory linked the hospitals' better performance relative to the departmental directorates to the incorporation of new executing units with no prior experience in managing earmarked funds and to the limited time available to complete procedures during the final quarter. The total allocation rose from Q 74.1 million in 2019 to Q 141.6 million in 2026. However, the execution level did not keep pace with that growth: between 2021 and 2025 it ranged between 70.7% and 82.4%, peaking in 2023. In 2020, the percentage had reached 52%. The 2026 figure fell below every other year in the series since 2019. The shortage of contraceptives was only partially resolved through purchases from the Pan American Health Organization and the Council of Health Ministers of Central America and the Dominican Republic. There was still no defined mechanism for 2027 purchases, even though the funding is specifically earmarked for that purpose. The lack of supplies particularly affects Depo-Provera, a quarterly contraceptive injection. In October, the Multidisciplinary Group for the Defense of Sexual and Reproductive Rights reported execution of 14.64% in the purchase of condoms, copper T intrauterine devices, and IUDs between January and August 2026, according to Infobae. More than Q 19 million remained unaccrued in that line item as of September 1, according to the Integrated Accounting System records. The low progress jeopardized the availability of methods for public family planning services. Access to cervical cancer prevention also remained limited: only 5% of women had access to screening through HPV DNA testing, Pap smears, or visual inspection with acetic acid. At a permanent care center, a 32-year-old mother of five asked to have a subdermal implant removed that had been inserted two weeks earlier. The case documented by OSAR described the situation as follows: "A woman of 32 with five children arrives at a CAP two weeks after having a subdermal implant inserted, asking to have it removed; her 62-year-old husband does not feel the same about that method."