AmeriCares is committed to helping El Salvador expand access to quality health care for more Salvadorans. In addition to disaster relief, and ongoing medical and humanitarian aid with two primary in country partners, we provide high quality primary health care through the AmeriCares Family Clinic. See images of our work .

Snapshot of El Salvador:

El Salvador with a land area the size of Massachusetts has the highest population density in Central America. The government’s efforts to provide free public healthcare has created a demand that far exceeds resources. Over a third of the poorest people in El Salvador still lack access to both public and private medical care while they face many of the health issues associated with poverty:

• Medicine prices are the highest in the region.
• Leading ­health problems and causes of death include heart disease, respiratory infections, cancers, HIV/AIDS and digestive diseases.

AmeriCares began working with our partner, Order of Malta, in country in 1984. We began delivering emergency aid in 1986, in response to a devastating earthquake that struck in the midst of the country's 12-year civil war. Since then, AmeriCares has distributed more than $445 million worth of medicines and medical supplies to the country, supplementing pharmacy shortages and providing budget relief.

Through two partners, the Asociación Nacional de El Salvador el la Soberana Orden de Malta (ANESOM) and Fundación Salvadoreña para la Salud y el Desarrollo Humano (FUSAL), AmeriCares donations of medicines and medical supplies reach hundreds of health care facilities including hospitals, clinics, health posts and children's and elderly homes. Our Clinic also distributes medical aid, primarily in the eastern part of the country

Our earthquake response in 2001 led to the building of the AmeriCares Family Clinic which opened in 2003.

The Salvadoran Order of Malta was awarded a global pre-positioning grant prior to the 2012 hurricane season. Because El Salvador did not experience any significant flooding during 2012, the supplies remain in stock for the 2013 hurricane season.

At the end of 2011, severe flooding displaced thousands of people throughout the country, creating food shortages and threats from communicable diseases. AmeriCares responded with emergency shipments to meet immediate needs and followed with supplementary aid to restock supplies in preparation for future emergencies. Read more

In 2005, AmeriCares responded to an outbreak of rotavirus at the request of the Salvadoran Ministry of Health. The disease causes life-threatening diarrhea, vomiting and fever in children under the age of five. AmeriCares swift response provided enough medicines and medical supplies to treat over 200,000 affected children.

In 2001, AmeriCares was among the first international aid organizations on the ground after an earthquake killed nearly 800 people. The emergency disaster relief included tents, blankets, medicines and medical supplies.

Chronic Disease:

At our El Salvador Family Clinic, we have focused on the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Through sustained primary care support, patients have access to necessary medications as well as education and counseling to help them manage their disease. Read More »

Nutrition:

FUSAL: Libras de Amor Through our partnership with FUSAL, we have been co-financing the Libras de Amor malnutrition program since 2006 where the program in two municipalities has succeeded in bringing chronic and acute malnutrition rates below national averages. Read More »

Since it opened in October 2003, the AmeriCares Family Clinic - Clínica Integral de Atención Familiar – has offered a low-cost, high-quality alternative to free public clinics and high-cost private practices. Local families in El Salvador can get an array of services including general medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, dentistry and health education outreach. The clinic sees more than 44,000 patients each year and serves as a model health care institution for the eastern region of the country. Click here to read more about the clinic »

Visit the Clínica Integral de Atención Familiar site »

AmeriCares also donates medical products to qualified U.S. health care professionals who are traveling to El Salvador to provide charitable medical care. Through this program, donated medicines and medical supplies reach impoverished and isolated communities where even basic medical care is inaccessible to the poor or often non-existent. AmeriCares donations cure infections, relieve pain, help patients manage chronic diseases and make life-changing surgeries possible.