MedGlobal Improves Access to Healthcare to Migrants in Colombia and Ecuador

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 5, 2023

MedGlobal Improves Access to Healthcare to Migrants in Colombia and Ecuador

The humanitarian NGO’s volunteers return from another successful mission in Ecuador and Colombia

The MedGlobal team conducted another resilience medical mission in Ecuador and Colombia. Six volunteers in Ecuador provided direct patient care to the host communities as well as to Venezuelan and other migrants living in Santa Elena province, Ecuador from August 19 to 26 and in the Cucuta region in Colombia from August 27 to September 2.

“The migrant crisis is a reality not only in the US but also in many central and Latin American countries with much less resources. We are doing our part by improving access to dignified health and reducing the burden on the overwhelmed healthcare systems in Ecuador and Colombia. We are incredibly thankful for our volunteers as well as our local partners ,” said Dr. John Kahled, the co-founder of MedGlobal who oversees central and Latin America’s medical programs.

MedGlobal began its health clinic in Colombia in 2018 by providing a multitude of healthcare services to Venezuelan migrants at the border, and in Ecuador in 2020, providing supplies, medications and medical training in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to emergency relief services at the border, MedGlobal is improving access to health care for vulnerable Colombians and displaced Venezuelans in the barrio of El Talento, and has provided 2,000 free health consultations so far. MedGlobal currently staff and support cross border activity in La Parada, Norte de Santander, Colombia and a soup kitchen serving 150 to 200 meals twice daily to needy clients and their families including children and elderly.

MedGlobal is an international medical NGO that provides emergency response, sustainable health programs, and supports resilient health systems in partnership with communities in disaster regions and low income countries.

Please contact Courtney Weigal at weigalco@gmail.com or +1 708-692-0101 to arrange an interview with the MedGlobal team.

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Field Operations Update for September 2020

Starting this month, MedGlobal will be putting out monthly Field Operation Updates, highlighting our humanitarian and health programs around the world. MedGlobal supports health care in Bangladesh, Colombia, Ecuador, Gaza, Greece, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and we have been contributing to the COVID-19 response in the United States. These monthly blog posts will provide a snapshot of some of our most notable program updates from the past month, though won’t cover the entirety of the health services and humanitarian work MedGlobal provides each month. For more frequent updates, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Lebanon

On August 4, 2020 a massive explosion in Beirut’s port destroyed buildings and infrastructure, killing at least 191 people, injuring over 6,500, and leaving as many as 300,000 people without a home. Following the explosion, MedGlobal launched an emergency response in coordination with local partners. MedGlobal partnered with Banin Charity Organization to establish a medical tent that provides medical and mental health services, medications, hygiene kits, supplies, and referrals to people affected by the blast. The tent is located in the Zqaq El Blat area of Beirut and referral tents are located in Mar Mikhael and Karantina. MedGlobal also provided Rafik Hariri University Hospital, located in Beirut, with medical supplies and medications following the blast. For more information about MedGlobal’s emergency response to the Beirut blast, please watch this video.

In addition to the Beirut response, MedGlobal responded to the COVID-19 crisis alongside our partner Multi-Aid Programs (MAPs) by providing health care support to Syrian refugees, who are particularly vulnerable. MedGlobal supported two medical facilities who primarily serve Syrian refugee communities in Majdal Anjar, a village in Lebanon’s Beka’a governorate. We provided personal protective equipment (PPE), staff salaries, and medications to the facilities. Our recent work in Majdal Anjar has reached 6,000 patients.

Ecuador

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city, MedGlobal began providing the MUEVE Foundation with supplies for their medical brigades for vulnerable populations in Guayaquil. This included medications for over 4,000 patients, 1,000 surgical masks, and 500 bottles of sanitizer. In partnership with Parametria, Santa Elena Governorate, and the Universidad Estatal Peninsula de Santa Elena, MedGlobal also helped conduct a survey to learn more about socio-demographics and perceptions and knowledge of COVID-19 within the province. In addition to our work combatting COVID-19, MedGlobal, in partnership with Parametria, donated food and hygiene kits to the MUEVE Foundation which will distribute them among 500 families of displaced Venezuelans in Guayaquil neighborhoods, reaching over 2,500 people.

Yemen

In August, MedGlobal scaled up its COVID-19 response in Yemen. MedGlobal distributed over 60,000 items of PPE and 61 oxygen cylinders, in addition to hospital beds, testing equipment, and other medical supplies to hospitals and isolation units throughout Yemen. This health care has served some of the most vulnerable communities in the Hadramout, Al Hudaydah, and Taiz governorates. Only half of all medical facilities in Yemen are fully functioning and 80% of the population relies on humanitarian assistance, so health support is more critical than ever.

Syria

As the COVID-19 crisis escalated in Syria, MedGlobal, alongside our partner Rahma Worldwide, has worked to provide oxygen concentrators, crucial for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, to health facilities and isolation units in Idlib, northwest Syria. Oxygen concentrators are crucial for providing the medical grade oxygen needed for treating COVID-19 patients. The impact of the pandemic is adding to an already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, nine years into an emergency conflict. Additionally, in August MedGlobal began to provide 200 oxygen generators and 60 CPAP machines, or non-invasive ventilators for people suffering from severe pneumonia or COVID-19 symptoms, to cities throughout Syria in partnership with local independent NGOs based on comprehensive needs assessments. These medical supplies will support upwards of 2,000 people, primarily those who are not financially able to access health care, over the next 6 months in Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Latakia, Hama, Zabadani, Bludan, and Safita.