 |
BoliviaThe parasitic disease Chagas is endemic in 60 percent of Bolivia’s territory. Access to diagnosis and treatment is limited and there is almost no treatment for sufferers over 15 years old. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is currently treating both adults and children, and is promoting and lobbying for wider access to treatment in the country. To date, teams have treated some 3,000 patients with Chagas in Bolivia. Their challenge is to demystify this disease and integrate treatment into the national public health system. MSF opened a project in Sucre, in southern Bolivia, in 2005, and improved access to diagnosis and treatment for those under 18 in this semi-urban setting. The project was finally closed in March 2008. In Cochabamba, located in central Bolivia, MSF worked in five health centers with the Ministry of Health, aiming to integrate the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas into the health system. Weekly followups allow side effects to be detected in time to transfer patients to the hospital if necessary. In 2008, more than 500 patients were treated. In Tarija, where MSF closed its project in 2006, nearly 1,400 children were treated. In 2008, 969 of these children were seen again to assess the efficacy of treatment and the project’s long-term impact. MSF has worked in Bolivia since 1986. |
||