Health on Board
USAID and its partners brought physical and mental health care to remote communities in the Amazon
The Amazon is a region that is difficult to access. Many towns are far from urban centers, and can only be accessed after several days sailing. Under these conditions, receiving health care and treatment becomes a daunting task.
If the people cannot go to health centers, then health centers must go to the people.
For 20 years, the Amazonian Hope Medical Program of Peru (Programa Médico Esperanza Amazonica-PMEAP) has carried out expeditions in the Peruvian Amazon with the Forth Hope and the Amazon Hope 2, hospital ships that bring free health services to the Indigenous communities along the riverbanks of the Loreto region.
However, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the country, and the health expeditions suspended operations for five months, affecting a total of 50,000 men, women, and children who had no access to health care.
BACK ON THE BOAT
In September 2020, PMEAP resumed operations, and a few months later, USAID stepped in. In collaboration with the Information and Education Center for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (CEDRO), the Peruvian Navy, and the Loreto Regional Government, the boats set sail once again.
This time with COVID-19 vaccines on board!
The boats were on a critical medical mission, the likes of which they had never seen before: to help mitigate the adverse health impacts of a pandemic on vulnerable rural and Indigenous populations of the Peruvian Amazon.
The ship provided much-need mental health services, too. Nearly 5,000 people in remote riverside communities came aboard for mental health care.
I think it’s excellent we were also treating mental health cases; otherwise, depression or anxiety would result in health problems that are harder to treat,” says Ronald Ramírez, medical manager of PMEAP.
When the ship arrived at a community, its horn would sound. It signaled to patients that it was time to come aboard and to medical workers that it was time to get to work.
BUILDING TRUST & CREATING SAFE SPACES
Taking into account the local culture and environment, psychologists provided safe spaces for therapeutic listening so they could better understand what was happening and better target care.
Psychologists held workshops where women could express themselves freely, without being judged.
Telling my problems to the psychologists has been a great help," says 47-year-old Rosaura, who lives in Nueva Alianza Alto Marañón, Loreto. "I was able to tell them about my childhood fears and the violence I suffered with my partner."
Now I have been supporting my daughter, a single mother, who is pregnant. With the recommendations and exercises of the psychologists, I can lead a more stable life. I also recommend my friends to seek psychological attention."
In the beginning, the men did not participate. However, little by little, everyone in the community began to understand the work of the psychologists and put aside their initial mistrust.
Community members participated in workshops onboard where they learned to manage emotions, control their reactions to stress, and enjoy a more connected life.
“I feel fulfilled as a local professional,” says nurse Angela Rodriguez, who worked aboard the Amazon Hope, “because we were bringing health to the farthest places of the region. Indigenous people like the ship. They say we listened to them and did not judge, scold or question them.”
ABOUT THIS STORY
In April 2021, the Alliance for the Amazon against COVID-19—a partnership between CEDRO and USAID—joined forces with the Amazonian Hope Medical Program of Peru, implemented by the Scottish NGO Vine Trust, to bring free medical services to communities located in the remote Loreto region in the Peruvian Amazon.
In a year and a half, they carried out 25 expeditions serving 355 communities, 95 percent of them Indigenous. Treatments also included more than 9,000 vaccines against COVID-19; 6,500 vaccines against HPV, tetanus, and hepatitis B; 228,000 medical appointments; 6,200 vision care visits; and 4,500 prenatal checkups.
The project also worked to ensure that local health post personnel and community volunteers could respond to the emotional needs of community members through training in mental health first aid.
ABOUT THIS STORY
Narrative by Magali Ugarte and Gerson Pizardi; Photos by Alfred Ruffner for USAID
#MENTALHEALTHCARE
#HEALTHFORALL
Learn more about USAID's work in Peru on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.