The San Juan de Dios Clinic in Iquitos, located in the Peruvian Amazon, distributed 22 food baskets this weekend to the 13 Community Health Agents of the project promoted by Juan Ciudad NGO, and nine members of the center's security and maintenance staff. The goal is to meet the support needs of their families, as the home confinement is currently in place until May 24, and the economic situation has become more difficult for all of them.
Peru is currently one of the Latin American countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, with nearly 67,000 cases and more than 1,800 deaths. The department of Loreto, to which Iquitos is located, is one of the most vulnerable to the coronavirus, as its population is primarily indigenous and dispersed across a large expanse of jungle, where access is limited by boat and there is very little health infrastructure.
Juan Ciudad NGO participated in the construction project for the San Juan de Dios Clinic in Iquitos, which opened in 2009. Since then, it has maintained its support for this specialized rehabilitation center, given that the population it serves lives in poverty and requires social assistance, in addition to healthcare.
Some Community Health Agents from the human settlements where the project promoted by Juan Ciudad NGO is being carried out collect their food on the first weekend of May 2020.
Over the past three years, a community health project was launched in four settlements due to the detection of serious health deficiencies among their populations. It has now been refocused in response to the coronavirus emergency to support community health workers living in the settlements.
The SJD Clinic in Iquitos has temporarily closed its rehabilitation services in compliance with the Peruvian government's epidemic prevention and control measures. At Juan Ciudad ONGD, we maintain close communication with all our partners in Latin America and Africa to tailor our assistance to the most urgent priorities of the centers and the populations they serve, thus contributing to the global response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Text and photos: Juan Ciudad ONGD.
