The Dire Problem
Tens-of-thousands suffer or die annually in the Peruvian Amazon from treatable or preventable medical conditions. The highest rates of mortality are among neonates and infants. The number one cause of death is common diarrhea and resultant dehydration.
Contributing to the suffering and death are:
- The inability of local people to access clinics due to distance and poverty (people frequently die en route to medical care)
- Inadequately staffed clinics lacking basic medicines
- Lack of diagnostic capabilities
- Sporadic or incomplete vaccination campaigns
- Lack of health education with regard to infant and childhood diseases
- Accidents, including snakebites, occurring in remote areas.
The Charity That is Helping
In 1994, Dr. Ernesto Salazar Sánchez, former Regional Minister of Health and current head of surgery at the Hospital Regional de Loreto, cofounded Project Amazonas, to do what the Peruvian government could not afford to do: bring medical aid to remote villages in the Peruvian Amazon.
In continuing partnership with the Ministry of Health, Project Amazonas brings care to over 9,000 people a year via volunteer and Ministry-staffed medical boats, works with medical schools from around the world, enabling young doctors and senior medical students to incorporate service expeditions into their training, and has undertaken construction of a medical facility and education center in the rainforest.
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1
Iquitos is the site of the Hospital Regional de Loreto, the only comprehensive medical facility in this entire region, which is the size of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia combined.
2
The town of Mazán has been identified as an optimal site for a clinic due to a combination of critical needs and strategic location.
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Project Amazonas is constructing and operating a medical clinic which will be the only consistent source of medical care for over 6,000 people in 33 communities in the Orosa River Basin. The services and scope of the clinic are based upon years of care provided for these communities as well as a series of formal interviews with patients and local health promoters in 2011.
Common Ailments
- Malaria (falciparum)
- Yellow Fever
- Tuberculosis
- Fever
- Cough
- Asthma
- Allergic conjunctivitis
- Fish allergies (food)
- Contact dermatitis
- Ascariasis (round worms, tapeworms, hookworms, and whipworms)
- Scabies
- Lice
- Otitis externa
- Otitis media
- Perforated tympanum
- Dehydration
- Pneumonia
- Snake bites
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Urinary tract infection
- Impetigo
- Abscesses, lesions & boils
- Secondary skin infections
- Vision Problems
- Foot injuries
- Major trauma (injury)
- Dental extractions
- Anemia
- Inguinal hernia
- Abdominal hernia
- Abscess
- Viral URI (bronchitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis)
- Tonsilitis
- Cellulitis
- Dengue fever
- Tinea corporis
- Tinea crurus
- Tinea versicolor
- Tinea pedís
- Tinea capitis
- Candidiasis
- Dysentry
- GERD / gastritis
- Viral gastroenteritis
- LBP / back pain
- Upper back pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Sciatica
- Dizziness
- Cephalea / headaches
- Oral ulcer
