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Emergency intervention for storm Amanda in San Salvador

El Salvador 2020 © Victor Peña/El Faro

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El Salvador

Bringing health care services to people affected by violence.

Our work in El Salvador

In 2020, MSF responded to COVID-19 and assisted people in the aftermath of tropical storm Amanda, while continuing to provide care in areas affected by violence.

Increase in deaths Soyapango and San Salvador1

What's happening in El Salvador?

The homicide rate in El Salvador ─ once the world’s highest ─ is declining, but other forms of violence continue to affect the Salvadoran population. Decades of fighting between rival gangs, their clashes with security forces, and violence against people continue to have humanitarian consequences and hamper access to health care.

People are unable to move freely between neighborhoods in areas dominated by rival gangs, marginalized by the authorities, and struggle to obtain medical assistance. In some areas, dubbed ‘red zones’, health services remain suspended due to violence and threats towards health workers. Measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns, exacerbated the situation in 2020.

How we're helping in El Salvador

MSF works in the capital, San Salvador, and the nearby city of Soyapango. We try to reach the people most in need through mobile clinics, community work, and mental health care.

During the year, we extended the emergency services we operate in Soyapango in partnership with the Emergency Medical System (a national ambulance service) to other stigmatized municipalities. These included Ilopango and some zones of San Martín, Tonacatepeque, and Ciudad Delgado, which are difficult for emergency services to enter because of the violence. During the year, we made more than 2,580 emergency referrals.

Our mobile clinics assisted violence-affected communities in the capital, San Salvador, and in Soyapango by running health promotion activities with community leaders and health committees, and facilitating access for Ministry of Health staff. We also worked with state-run institutions and other NGOs to provide medical care to migrants, displaced people, and deportees.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we offered mental health care in isolation centers for deportees from Mexico and the United States. We also worked to alleviate the workload of the emergency services by supporting the transfer of COVID-19 patients with an additional ambulance.

When tropical storm Amanda hit El Salvador, we ran a mobile clinic to deliver medical and psychological care to the most affected communities and donated hygiene kits.

SEE MORE

How we're helping in 2020

11,600

Outpatient consultations

2,030

Individual mental health consultations

510

Mental health consultations provided in group sessions

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Learn about MSF’s journalistic roots and our commitment to bear witness and speak out about the plight of the people we treat.

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How you can help

Not everyone can treat patients in the field. But everyone can do something.

Some humanitarian crises make the headlines—others don’t. Unrestricted support from our donors allows us to mobilize quickly and efficiently to provide lifesaving medical care to the people who need it most, whether those needs are in the spotlight or not. And your donation is 100 percent tax-deductible.

We need your support to continue this lifesaving work

We need your support to continue this lifesaving work

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