“Tell us about your country…” Letters from the Peruvian and Honduran communities

We received news from the south-central Peruvian city of Ica, where the old hospital is being torn down and a new one under construction, that the lack of a coordinated program for replacing in- and out-patient care during the transition has turned into a death knell for PLWHA undergoing treatment due to unforeseen changes in health centers and increases in wait times. Patients who have not yet entered the HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment) program cannot get their lab results and so are unable to submit them as a requirement for taking part in it; having access to these drugs would benefit them greatly by assisting in improving their health and, in turn, in carrying out their day to day activities.

Here is the description given to us by “Bertha”: “…since they began demolishing the Ica Regional Hospital during the first week of September, HAART program care and wait times have worsened. The situation has become unbearable on account of people not knowing where to go, loss of lab results, waiting for appointments with doctors that never come to pass because the multi-disciplinary team meets on the fly, etc. Because of the ad hoc services, an average of 15 people do not receive care on a daily basis, and they become desperate since they are not receiving the treatment, while others cannot submit their test results for entering the program (these are people from different parts of the region).

Then, there is the improvised health care facility for adults and children, located in an open field. Waits are long, and sometimes you have to stand under the scorching sun until 12:00 or 1:00 P.M. before you meet with anyone.

I am concerned about people’s health, which will progressively worsen. It seems to me that more and better care needs to be provided for all branches of health services, yet in-patient and PLWHA care requires special attention. Another thing is that authorities must guarantee ARV efficacy and storage integrity. Just because they are stored in a tent and the air is cool does not ensure their status.

Observatorio Latino has joined Bertha’s appeal to hospital directors and the competent health authorities for taking immediate measures to improving this situation in Ica.

On another note, everyone has heard of the Honduran political situation, yet it is always better to get first hand reports from those who are living there.

So, we wish to share with you what Justa Suazo wrote us. She is a Honduran activist who writes about the role the HIV community is playing in organized citizen surveillance. Their efforts have guaranteed uninterrupted comprehensive health care for Honduran PLWHA.

She writes, “We have made progress on comprehensive health care in Honduras through aid from the GF and other donors, and civil society is playing a fundamental role in its advancement. After the coup, civil society increased its surveillance of health centers that offer comprehensive care to make certain service quality remained high, in spite of the political situation here that is forcing us to remain alert to ensure this government does not stop processes which guarantees us quality comprehensive health care…”

Observatorio Latino wants to join in on this citizen surveillance, and we ask our Honduran counterparts to keep writing us so we will know what is going on. That way, we will be able to assist them on the cases that warrant it.

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