1,828 People Attended Mano a Mano’s Health Education Programs in 2019
A critical component of Mano a Mano’s health program in Bolivia is to provide health education:
- to communities through weekend health clinics providing basic services
- to Mano a Mano’s clinic staff through continuing health education workshops
- to medical professionals from other organizations
These programs are managed and administered by our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia, and serve a complementary role to the construction of community clinics throughout rural Bolivia. (In partnership with local communities, municipal governments, and the Bolivian Health Ministry, Mano a Mano has built 170 clinics to date.)
A Basic Life Support class being taught at Mano a Mano Bolivia for students from the Gastronomía de Sacaba program
In 2019, Mano a Mano Bolivia hosted 37 continuing health education workshops, with 154 volunteer medical professionals providing 379 hours and 167 topics of training to 1,828 attendees.
2019 Health Education Programs in Pictures
11 Continuing Health Education Workshops
Continuing health education & training has been an integral component for Mano a Mano’s clinic program since 1997. There are over 500 doctors, nurses, and dentists working in Mano a Mano’s 170 clinics, and each of these medical professionals is encouraged to attend continuing health education workshops provided by Mano a Mano Bolivia on a regular basis. There is on average 1 course monthly, with a rotating emphasis for doctors, nurses, and dentists. Each course provides 16-20 hours of continuing education credits, taught over 2 and a half days by 94 volunteer medical professionals. In 2019, 114 different themes and courses were covered; each 2.5 day workshop is a combination of theory and practical sessions.
Mano a Mano Bolivia hosted 11 continuing health education workshops in 2019, with 703 attendees.
Each participant receives a certificate of completion for these hours, which are recognized by local medical schoools including the Universidad Mayor de San Simón (Facultad de Enfermería), Colegio Médico de Cochabamba, and the Colegio de Enfermeras Cochabamba, among others. Mano a Mano staff working in our clinics cite the continuing education workshops as a critical component of why they continue to work in isolated, rural, and difficult conditions. The consistent presence of skilled health care workers in these communities is one of the most important factors in the success of our clinics, and keeping staff engaged and content is crucial.
Medical Educators for Latin America partners with Mano a Mano Bolivia to host larger Acute Care conferences every year; their conference in 2019 was split into 2 conferences in February for doctors and nurses, with 70 and 145 attendees respectively.
26 Health Education Courses for Organizations
In addition to the monthly continuing health education workshops that are primarily intended for staff from Mano a Mano clinics, Mano a Mano Bolivia provides health education workshops for schools; hospitals; police, fire, & military departments; and other organizations. 60 volunteer medical professionals covered a total of 53 topics in these 26 courses in 2019; most of these courses cover topics like first aid, CPR, triage, and emergency care.
Mano a Mano Bolivia hosted 26 education courses for organizations, with 1125 attendees.
Basic Life Support training for the community of Pantoja, July 2019 (hosted at their clinic built in partnership with Mano a Mano in 2010; this was Mano a Mano’s 112th clinic project).
Basic Life Support training for the CEFOTES Cochabamba police department.
406 People in 4 Communities Received Medical & Dental Care in Weekend Health Clinics
17 medical professionals volunteered their time to fly to 4 small communities in the Amazon region of Bolivia to provide dental, medical, and lab services (each weekend health clinic typically has about 5 volunteers). Each weekend health clinic, or jornada, takes place over 2 days, with volunteers flying to the communities on the Mano a Mano plane to provide health care services in communities that have little access to health care in their communities or nearby.
Volunteer medical professionals getting ready to board the Mano a Mano plane for their weekend health clinic in San Ignacito on June 8, 2019.
In total, 406 people were attended to during the 4 weekend health clinics: 32 received medical care, 327 received dental work, and 47 received lab services.
Providing dental care in Campo Via on October 8, 2019.
In addition to weekend health clinics organized by Mano a Mano Bolivia, Mano a Mano Aviation also works with other organizations and volunteer groups to provide additional weekend health clinics. Mano a Mano Aviation provides flights for weekend health clinics about 2-4 weekends every month on average (in 2017 we provided 50 weekend health clinics in total).
A Comprehensive Approach to Development
Mano a Mano’s 5 counterpart organizations partner with Bolivian communities on a variety of infrastructure projects including schools, clinics, roads, water projects, airstrips, and greenhouses (read our 2019 Annual Report to see our projects completed last year). In addition to building infrastructure projects, we also collaborate with communities to provide education, training, and maintenance programs that complement the new infrastructure and help ensure that each project is high-quality and sustainable.
A weekend health clinic to provide dental care.
Thank you to the many dedicated staff and volunteers that made these health education programs available in 2019!