In response to the dire need for healthcare for remote indigenous communities in Peru, the Amazon Hope Medical Programme developed a unique project initiated by a Scotland-based international development charity called The Vine Trust, to provide free healthcare to remote indigenous communities through the use of two medical ships that travel along the Amazon, Ucayali, and Marañon rivers. Their aim is to help close the health treatment gap that keeps remote, underserved communities from accessing needed quality health services. The recently established alliance between USAID, the Amazon Hope Medical Programme, and the Peruvian NGO Center for Information and Education for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (Centro de Informacion y Educacion para la Prevencion del Abuso de Drogas, CEDRO, in Spanish) increased the scope of the project, expanding the number of communities served and including a new mental health project in the ships’ services. The alliance's work addresses SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG-5 (Gender Equality) of the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and its mission is closely aligned to the World Health Organization’s aim of promoting universal health coverage. The project aims to develop a digital health strategy in order to further expand the areas served and range of services provided. Barriers to our work include lack of internet access in the region, difficulties in multilateralism due to political instability, and limited intersectoral collaboration. The medical ship project represents an initiative where technology is anticipated to amplify the deliverables and reduce healthcare inequities.
Elsevier, Resilient Health, 2024, Pages 1085-1098
