El Salvador

“I’m a Health Worker”: Dr. Arturo Carrillo

Dr. Arturo Carrillo wants to end discrimination and stigmatization of people living with HIV in his home country of El Salvador.

“Very often people disrespect the basic human rights of this population,” he says.

He’s an HIV expert for the National STI/HIV/AIDS Program for the Ministry of Health. As part of his job, he educates people on key issues, including sexual diversity.

“Each and every one of us has to understand that while people may be different, under the law we are all equal,” Dr. Carrillo says. “And that is extremely important.”

Like other countries in Central America, El Salvador’s HIV epidemic is concentrated in specific groups—HIV prevalence among sex workers is 5.7%, among men who have sex with men it’s 10.8%, and among transgender women it’s 25.8%. But widespread unfamiliarity with HIV, stigma, limited access to health care, poverty, and migration all make the country and the region vulnerable to a growing HIV epidemic. Read more »

Venciendo las barreras de género: Yo soy una trabajadora de la salud de la cadena de suministros

El Ministerio de Salud de El Salvador tiene a nivel nacional 111 almacenes y solo 2, son dirigidos por mujeres. Yesenia Aguirre de Barahona es una de esas dos mujeres, se desempeña como guardalmacén de la Región Paracentral. El almacén abastece 73 centros de salud para una población beneficiaria de 882,243 personas.

Graduada como Licenciada en Mercadotecnia, tiene 23 años trabajando en la cadena de suministros en el sistema de salud salvadoreño, y siete como guardalmacén de medicamentos. A pesar de que tiene una gran experiencia, se enfrenta a algunos desafíos debido a ser mujer en un papel por lo general ocupado por los hombres. Read more »

Overcoming Gender Barriers: A Day in the Life of a Health Worker in the Supply Chain

El Salvador’s Ministry of Health has 111 warehouses nationwide, and only two are directed by women. Yesenia Aguirre de Barahona is one of those two women, working as a warehouse guard in the Paracentral Region. Her warehouse supplies medicines to 73 health centers that serve a total of 882,243 people.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, she gained 23 years of experience working in the supply chain of the country’s health system, and spent seven years as a guard of medication warehouses. Even though she is highly experienced, she faces some challenges due to being a woman in a role typically held by men. Read more »

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