Ecuador

COUNTRY BACKGROUND

Ecuador is located along the equator between Colombia and Peru, in the Andean region of South America. The country’s 2004 census revealed that approximately half of the population can be classified as poor or very poor, and reported a strong positive correlation between poverty, membership in an indigenous ethnic group and living in a rural community. One-quarter of the population is not covered by any formal health care system and 60% lack access to essential medicines. While communicable conditions such as respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases and malaria remain a cause for concern, the incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is on the rise. Rural zones also continue to struggle with chronic malnutrition, which impairs the physical and mental development of children.

GLOBAL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

AmeriCares Helps Hospitals to Treat 1 Million People a Year

AmeriCares has worked with the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil (JBG) since 2005. JBG, headquartered in the city of Guayaquil, was founded in 1888. It is a private nonprofit institution whose mission is “to provide care and social welfare services for the needy in Guayaquil and its surrounding areas.” JBG manages four major hospitals, four schools aimed at improving children’s health and youth development and two homes for the elderly in the Guayaquil area. More than $11 million in donated medical products from AmeriCares has helped JBG’s health care services to provide more than 1 million patient visits per year. These health services include care in general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and mental health. JBG takes pride in the high level of care it provides and in its contribution to the medical community.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM

History of Strong Emergency Response Efforts Continues Today

In addition to the partnership with Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil, AmeriCares has a long history of helping Ecuadorians in times of emergency, beginning with our response to the March 1987 earthquake that shook the Napo province. Most recently, in February 2008, AmeriCares responded to flooding with an emergency shipment of vital medicines and supplies to JBG in collaboration with the Ecuadorian Civil Defense and Ecuadorian Consulate. Items such as antibiotics, dermatological creams, analgesics, blankets and toothbrushes were distributed to shelters and medical brigades throughout the provinces of Guayas, Los Rios, Canar, Azuay, El Oro, Loja, Manabi and Esmeraldas.