El Salvador
Situation Report
In El Salvador, children under the age of 5 suffer from a high incidence of infectious diseases and malnutrition (28% in rural areas). Despite advances in medical technology, these statistics have remained high for more than 50 years. Additionally, increased life expectancy has led to a rise in chronically degenerative diseases in old age. Even though people are living longer, their quality of life is declining because they do not have access to proper health care.
El Salvador’s National Commission of Health reports that the most marginalized sections of the population have difficulty accessing primary and specialty health care services. Poverty coupled with the high cost of services and a lack of health care providers has made access difficult for many. Specialty services including dermatology, dental hygiene, ophthalmology and cardiology are some areas that often remain untreated.
Our Work
We sent our first team to El Salvador in 1986 and returned 15 years later to provide medical care to earthquake victims near San Salvador. Since 2001, we have shipped 10 containers of medical supplies and sent 42 volunteer teams. These volunteer medical professionals have provided dental, nutrition, pediatric, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) training, disaster response, midwifery, internal medicine, dermatology, rehabilitation therapy and ophthalmology care.
Future Plans
Medical Teams International will deploy 4 volunteer medical teams this year. These teams will provide:
- Midwifery training to local health care workers.
- Pediatric medical services to children and at-risk youth living near a dump community through our partner's "Barefoot Angels" program.
- Eye surgery for patients blinded by cataracts, strabismus and pterigiums.
- Rehabilitation training for family care providers of children with physical disabilities in collaboration with our partner, World Vision.
Our Partners
- A Salvadoran doctor established ASAPROSAR in 1985 to provide health care for the marginalized members of society—children, adolescents and women. Located in Santa Ana, ASAPROSAR specializes in rural health care work and preventative care. The organization selects and teaches health promoters to work in local villages. ASAPROSAR currently serves 80,000 people with minimal staff and the assistance of hundreds of volunteers.
Each volunteer health promoter works with approximately 50 families. These men and women get to the know families, visit them monthly and guide mothers through pregnancy. Using basic measures like height, weight and other physical changes, the health promoters watch for the warning signs of a problematic pregnancy and pass those cases to a doctor. They also reinforce the importance of hospital delivery.
- In partnership with communities, nine World Vision area development programs in El Salvador are bringing hope to children and families. Currently, nearly 25,000 girls and boys are benefiting from child sponsorship provided by U.S. donors. World Vision also continues to help families rebuild homes lost to earthquakes and hurricanes.
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