In Spain, the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God is making a great effort through its centers and hospitals, as much work is still needed to reverse the situation caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus; and in Juan Ciudad NGOs have increased our work to maintain support for centers and hospitals in disadvantaged countries in Africa and Latin America, where the coronavirus could cause an even greater catastrophe than in Europe due to the fragility of their healthcare systems.
Our organization experienced firsthand the Ebola epidemic that affected West Africa in 2013-2016., and that's why We know that it is crucial and urgent to help to control the epidemic in countries with weak health systems, as well as maintain maternal and child care, and chronic and prevalent diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, among others.
Since the first alarms went off we have not stopped, and we want to tell you what we've been doing in recent weeks. The Juan Ciudad NGO team in Spain We started teleworking on March 11th. and we are currently still maintaining home confinement measures.
We do a follow-up daily of all our counterparts in 10 countries in Africa and three in South America, to know their status and the specific needs of each center.
An anesthesiologist at St. John of God Hospital in Lunsar, Sierra Leone.
In addition, on March 17th They sent specific measures to each of the countries with active projects, to facilitate prevention and control actions against the coronavirus., and protect workers and beneficiaries. This has meant that some programs, such as community health programs, have been temporarily suspended.
Also Support is maintained for all projects and local staff, prioritizing the maintenance of social and health services to the population, according to the context of the epidemic.
To do this, A first round of funds has been sent to them to address the coronavirus emergency in Africa and America. These funds are intended for the purchase of protective materials, equipment for training and implementation of protocols, the maintenance of centers (energy, diesel, transportation, staff, food, etc.), and community awareness.
On March 24, the Crisis Committee for Africa was created and holds weekly meetings via videoconference., which will also include an ad hoc Communications Group. This committee includes the African Province of St. Augustine OH and the San Juan de Dios cooperation organizations in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and Ireland, including Juan Ciudad ONGD, which coordinates it.
In Iquitos (Peru) Food baskets have been prepared to cover up to two weeks of subsistence for 13 Community Health Agents from the Community Health project that Juan Ciudad has been developing since 2018. Some of these people live in families of up to fourteen members, so they were extremely grateful for this help.
One of the Community Health Agents from the San Juan Clinic project in Iquitos after collecting her food basket.
All of these initiatives have the ultimate goal of reducing the harm and suffering that the coronavirus is causing among particularly vulnerable populations, as well as helping to strengthen the global response to COVID-19.
Below we show you the countries we are working with, where the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God has centers and hospitals, and the needs they have expressed to us and which we are helping to address.
Africa: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, Mozambique, Togo and Benin.
Latin America: Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
Text and infographic: Adriana Castro. Juan Ciudad NGO Communications
Photos: Juan Ciudad NGO
