[BACK] Medical service trips in January and February 2006 will visit the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve and continue medical and research activities in partnership with the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and the Peruvian Ministry of Health and School of Medicine of the National University of the Peruvian Amazon. The boat based expeditions will visit areas and communities that have limited or no access to medical care. As there are no roads in the region, transportation is necessarily by boat. With the increasing prices of motor fuels, many residents of the region do not have the necessary financial resources to travel by motorized boat to the nearest health care facility which may be several hours distant under the best of conditions. By human-powered canoe, it may take several days to reach a health post!

The January medical service expedition will visit the Canal de Puyinahua region of the Pacaya-Samria National Reserve. This very large area floods extensively each year and malaria and malnutrition are endemic to the area. In the dry season, the rivers and waterways of the region are blocked by sandbars and mudflats, cutting off boat access for months at a time. In January, water levels will be high enough to allow the medical team to access the small communities that dot the area. The team will consist of Peruvian doctors and medical students accompanied by a Dartmouth College funded volunteer who will be working to develop a patient data reporting system for use on such expeditions so that we can better track health trends and needs, as well as file useful and timely reports to the Ministry of Health. Dates for this expedition will be 15-21 January, and we will use the Tucunare riverboat. A map of the area to be visited can be seen below.

From 12-25 February, a two week medical mission anchored by personnel from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine will visit the Orosa and Apayacu River areas (see maps of areas). The medical team will be comprised of University of Mississippi personnel and students as well as additional Peruvian MD's and students and Project Amazonas staff. This trip will focus on continuing on-going preventative health education and health worker training in the areas visited (in the general areas of the Project Amazonas field stations). Also, we will be continuing a helminth intestinal parasite control study, seeking effective ways to reduce the intensity and frequency of infection by helminth worms - a chronic and serious problem for people living in the region. Anyone interested in participating in this expedition should send letter of inquiry and CV to mionectes@aol.com - a selection process will ensure that the medical team is well rounded. Cost for participation in the trip is US $1890 (from Iquitos), of which a portion is tax-deductable for US residents - part of the funds will be used for the purchase of medicines and to support the participation of Peruvian medical personnel and students.

For information for participating in medical service trips, please visit our Medical and Volunteer webpages for more useful information and background. Charitable contributions of funds, medicines and supplies are vital to our ability to provide medical services to the people of the Amazon. Such donations are tax-deductible for US donors, and we are always happy to provide letters of receipt to donors from any country. To learn more about contributing to Project Amazonas and about our donation policies, please visit the Sponsor webpage.

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