The overall objective of this project is the amelioration of health conditions of rural population in Bajo Atrato (Chocò Department – Colombia).

The project’s specific objective is to develop primary health care services within the communities of Bajo Atrato in order to provide high standard services able to match the needs of population, with a particular attention to the vulnerable groups such as women. All the beneficiary communities are in a permanent humanitariancrisis zone in which most part of the civilian population – mainly displaced internal persons (IDPs) – is particularly vulnerable because of the violence of the Colombian internal conflict and of the conditions of socio-economical alienation. Direct beneficiaries of the project are approximately 10,000 people belonging to 48 communities in which are present health promoters properly trained by the project team in the municipalities of Rio Sucio and Carmen del Darièn.. The project’s activities can be divided in 4 main areas of intervention: infrastructures, health prevention, promotion, care and training.
Planned activities:
– Management of the training centre for health promoters and obstetricians (parteras);
– Implementation of community activities of health prevention and promotion;
– Implementation of community health care activities;
– Training on sexual and reproductive health targeting 28 traditional obstetricians (parteras);
– Implementation of training programme targeting 24 health promoters belonging to an advanced level;
– Implementation of training programme for 6 multiplier health promoters;
– Realization of community visits for supporting and supervising health promoters.
Achieved results:
1. Communities and health promoters have the necessary infrastructures and equipment for training and primary health care activities.
2. The population has access and benefits of health prevention and promotion community services.
3. Population has access and benefit of community health care services.
Health promoters and obstetricians (parteras) are trained on health care, prevention and promotion activities. The on-going intervention is a continuation of the previous project (Community health project in the conflict area of Bajo Atrato) and has doubled the numbers of the beneficiary population (thanks to a
strategy of health promoters’ empowerment ) and is specifically aiming at the promotion of woman’s health, whose vulnerability significantly emerged during the previous project. The previous intervention made health promoters’ training possible and was focused on the development of community health care services.