Medical Programs: A HOLISTIC Approach

We initiate, promote, and/or coordinate medical treatment, education and research, and related activities in the Peruvian Amazon. We partner with Peruvian health institutions and with other organizations with similar goals, and at all times we work within the framework of, and with the permission of the Peruvian Ministry of Health. We recognize that well-being of people and conservation of natural resources must go hand in hand. We cannot claim to be interested in the health and welfare of Amazon peoples while ignoring environmental alteration that threatens their way of life. Likewise if we focus on conservation while ignoring the needs of people, conservation efforts will be resented, resisted, and will ultimately fail. We are seeking to balance the twin objectives of healthy people and a healthy environment that will result in a win-win situation. We don't claim to have all the answers, and we know that this will require long-term dedication and lots of hard work. We are convinced, however, that the rewards are worth the effort, and we invite your participation. Our primary activities and objectives are summarized below:

Activities & Programs

• Provide annual or bi-annual health care services and education to residents of remote river communities, while emphasizing prevention, self-reliance, and use of effective traditional remedies.
• Provide donated medicines, supplies, equipment and materials to medical facilities in the Peruvian Amazon.
• Train health workers in river communities for the treatment of independently manageable ailments and conditions. Provide basic medical kits to these communities, as well as materials for teaching/implementing proactive health strategies and practices.
• Arrange and coordinate Amazon service by international and Peruvian volunteer health and development professionals and medical students.
• Coordinate medical rotations for international medical students in the Peruvian Amazon, and for Peruvian medical students outside of Peru, with the objective of broadening students' fields of experience, expertise, and professionalism.
• Initiate and/or support health education programs in elementary schools in the Peruvian Amazon.
• Emergency Nutrition Programs to provide supplemental nutrition for residents of the poorest urban areas.
• Initiate and support medically-related research in the Amazon basin.

SPECIFIC Objectives & Proposals

• Promote sanitary practices and the use of clean water in area schools, focusing on children and young mothers
• Dramatically reduce the incidence and intensity of intestinal helminth parasite infections in children and adults through a regular de-worming program.
• Introduce simple but effective water filtration units for home use in at-risk areas (see more!)
• Obtain and make available rapid diagnostic methods for use in remote areas with no lab facilities
• Introduce and/or make available new drug therapies and advances for treatment/prevention of endemic disease problems
• Support ethnobotanical and pharmacological research into the effectiveness and utility of traditional herbal remedies
• Develop innovations in preventative medicine, health-related sustainable development projects, and appreciation of traditional medical practices