COLOMBIA- Intervention for the improvement of health conditions and risk management of the population victim of armed conflict and of migrants living in the Pacific Coast, through a strategy of Primary Health Care, Psychosocial support and strengthening of local capacities

The project represents Phase II of the intervention carried out between 2018 and 2019. It is also implemented in Colombia in the Districts near the Pacific coast of Chocó, Cauca, Valle and Nariño. Since there are no treatment strategies to bring health services closer to these communities where the population has multiple difficulties in terms of access to health services, the objective of the Project is to directly reach the victims of the armed conflict to provide health services with the hospital ship San Raffaele, to help reduce morbidity and mortality. The hospital ship is the result of the collaboration between AISPO and the Italo Colombian Foundation of Mount Tabor and is funded by the Directorate General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). It will bring health care to more than 21,000 people in a year. In this Phase II, an element of risk management in partnership with the Meritorious Voluntary Firefighters Brigade of Cali has been added to the project. Thanks to this Partner we will try to strengthen local knowledge and skills both in disease prevention and health promotion, as well as in integrated risk management. With regard to the treatment of victims of disasters and epidemiological events, the coordination of medical response actions in case of emergency will be improved with the establishment and implementation of an Emergency Medical Team (E.M.T.) for timely action, as well as providing technical assistance to hospitals, in coordination with national, departmental and municipal systems and relief agencies, also to address COVID-19 emergencies.

Objectives

1. To contribute to the improvement of health conditions and risk management of the population of the Colombian Pacific Coast, victim of the armed conflict and without access to basic health services
2. Reduce the morbidity and mortality of the population of the Pacific Coast affected by the armed conflict and improve the quality and accessibility of health care and the resilience of the community in disaster risk management

Activities

1. General medical visits through the hospital boat
2. Medical examinations on the growth and development of children from 0 to 10 years old
3. Nutritional surveys on families with children from 0 to 10 years of age with weight and height alterations
4. Psychological counselling
5. Awareness campaigns on health promotion and disease prevention in communities
6. Identification of cases for a referral to higher level medical care
7. Providing sexual and reproductive health care
8. Identify GBV cases to provide individual psychosocial support to GBV survivors
9. Conduct workshops for staff in hospitals, municipalities, police stations and government agencies in recognition of treatment pathways, protocols and clinical guides
10. Manage sexual abuse cases within 72 hours
11. Provide training to midwives with an ethno-cultural approach
12. Equipment of small health centres in Litoral San Juan
13. Workshop on community resilience in disaster management for community leaders, organized by the UNGRD with the COMUNGERD strategy
14. To carry out theoretical and practical workshops on integrated risk management for municipal officials, military, relief agencies and community-based organisations, with an ethnocultural and gender-based approach, using the I.E.C. methodology.
15. Conducting training workshops for selected E.M.T. personnel
16. Meetings for the establishment of the Emergency Medical Team (E.M.T.) at the municipal, district, and national levels
17. Purchase of technical and medical equipment for EMT implementation
18. Training and workshops for health workers in priority municipalities to join hospital emergency committees and assess administrative and operational procedures in the health sector to coordinate preparedness and response in emergency and disaster situations
19. Multidisciplinary simulation to assess the technical, human and logistic response capability of trained E.M.T. teams
20. Emergency assistance for cases of suspected COVID-19, or other medical emergencies
21. Laboratory tests delivered to implement diagnoses
22. Awareness and information about COVID-19, or other diseases related to an unexpected emergency