ALLIANCE WITH PARTNERS IN HEALTH

USAID partners with Socios en Salud, the Peruvian affiliate of the U.S. non-profit organization Partners In Health, to respond to COVID-19 in Peru, using a community-based approach to reduce infection and save lives.

This Alliance supports aggressive contact tracing, community mobilization, and systematic screening and isolation to prevent community spread of COVID-19. The $2.9 million investment from USAID mobilizes additional $1 million from Boston-based Partners In Health.

HOW DOES THE ACTIVITY WORK?

The Alliance supports the administration of COVID-19 tests (with private funds) for the most vulnerable populations, improves the capacity to provide oxygen therapy at public health facilities, provides teleconsultations through a medical call center, and activates a community health worker network to safely conduct outreach visits to identify families in need of clinical and social support. Activities are focused on high-risk regions for COVID-19, including Lima and Northern Coast and Amazon jungle regions of Peru, as prioritized by Peru’s Ministry of Health.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

●  Established 10 rapid response teams to perform epidemiological surveillance and contact tracing: five in the Lima Norte Integrated Health Networks Directorate (DIRIS), and five in DIRIS Lima Este.

●  Performed 15,991rapid tests to date, plus 2,230 molecular tests in support of DIRIS Lima Norte.

●  Donated one mobile laboratory to the Ministry of Health with capacity to perform molecular testing for SARS-CoV-2.

●  Donated nine portable oxygen concentrators to the North Lima Health Directorate.

●  Improved capacities to provide oxygen therapy in seven hospitals (in La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, San Martin and Ica).

●  The refurbished oxygen systems, concentrators, and additional oxygen outlet points now serve approximately 900 patients per month. To date, we estimate that close to 2000 patients have already benefited from this assistance.

●  Attended 81,997 non-COVID and 89,046 COVID medicine teleconsultations.

●  Implemented a mental health chat-bot application for online consultations: 1,921 persons screened, of whom 1,484 were identified as suffering a mental issue. Of these people, 1,285 received psychological first aid and 226 were referred for psychiatric consultation.

●  Implemented a version of the mental health chat-bot in the Quechua language, with 30 persons screened to date.

●  Community Health Workers conducted 11,596 house visits, screened 24,023 persons, and provided social support to 1,462 households.