CFHI Bolivia Program Projects

Child Family Health International (CFHI) is the leading nongovernmental organization (NGO) placing health science students on global health education programs in ways that are socially responsible and financially just. We model best global health education practices which demonstrate a priority commitment to community engagement and local integrity. 

Donate to CFHI Bolivia Program Projects and make a direct and tangible impact on healthcare in Bolivia.  Donations for CFHI Bolivia Program projects go directly our CFHI partner sites and benefit local hospitals and practitioners as well as community health initiatives.  In addition to your contribution CFHI continually supports local healthcare systems and economies through its global health education programs, micro grants, and medical supply recovery.  The following is a sample of some of the sites and projects your donation will help to sustain.  

Community Health Initiatives:  CFHI has a number of targeted, effective community health projects that benefit our host communities. These include the Children Living in Jails project, Healthcare for Remote Jungle Communities, and Cervical Cancer Prevention in Oaxaca, to name a few.  These projects cost between $2,5000 and $4,000 to run and support community-driven projects devised by the doctors and other community leaders themselves.  For more details on project descriptions and updates see CFHI’s Community Health Projects page.  

Professional Development Opportunities: CFHI supports our global partners in pursuing professional development opportunities. Whether it is a request for funding to attend an international conference or training in specific surgical procedures, CFHI assists whenever possible. CFHI has also provided collaborative programs for global partners focusing on management, skill building, and leadership strategies useful in administering CFHI global health education programs.  For more details visit CFHI’s Professional Development page.

The following is a list of some of the hospitals and clinics representing just a portion of the many this project aims to support:

Hospital del Nino:
This state run hospital, one of the largest and oldest hospitals in Bolivia, treats patients from all over the country. The hospital has 160 beds and is the national center for pediatrics- all pregnant women and children under 5 receive free care. Doctors specialize in a number of areas including: oncology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, neurosurgery, emergency and outpatient care. This hospital has very few resources. 

Children Living in Jails:
This project is designed to help more than 80 children under six years old who live with their mothers in a jail in La Paz. It is divided into three complementary phases: medical aid, child psychological support and social support, with the objective of integrating support for children who accompany their parents to prison. The goal is to make these support services permanent over time. Specifically support goes to medical materials and supplies, personnel transportation costs and the purchase of a desktop computer to manage the project.

Los Andes Hospital:
Los Andes is also a municipal hospital located in El Alto. It is a small hospital specifically for children and mothers with 20 pediatric and neonatology beds. It treats a very poor and marginalized population. This hospital has very few resources.

Israel Aguila Escobar:
Israel is a three year old boy living in El Alto, a subsection of the city of La Paz, Bolivia. He was born with a rare genetic disorder called Seckel Syndrome known for microcephaly (small head), low-birth weight type dwarfism, mental retardation, and cranial-facial and dental anomalies. Israel is currently learning how to walk and is begin treated at Hospital de Los Andes but will require physical therapy, orthopedic shoes and a walker during this learning process and may need surgery in the future.  Many of the health services that Israel needs now and will need in the future are not covered by the Bolivian national health insurance.

Alalay:
Alalay is an organization dedicated to getting children off of the streets and providing them with a place to live. The organization currently has four houses in La Paz and one in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which provide a home for a total of 500 children and adolescents.

La Fundación La Paz:
The Fundación La Paz is a nonprofit organization that has implemented a web of free primary health care community clinics in some of the poorest areas of La Paz. These clinics specialize in providing integral care to adolescents and provide basic primary care for patients living in the area. Fundación La Paz also provides social services for children and youth.

CEDIN:
Center for Integral Development. This clinic takes care of children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years old that come from poor families and with different psychosocial problems. Besides integral primary care  (psychologist and primary care physician), the clinic's work includes the development of skills and psychosocial capabilities to help children lead a different kind of life, always keeping in mind their access to professional training opportunities.

Sarantanani Trabajador:
This site provides services that protect and protect the rights of children and adolescents that are working in the streets of La Paz. The center emphasizes their need to stay in school, and provide activities that strengthen their psychosocial development.

Centro de Capacitacion Tecnica Sarantanani (CCTS):
This technical center's main objective is to train adolescents between 15 and 20 as qualified workers. Most of these adolescents, due to financial and social constraints, cannot continue going to school; therefore this sort of training is needed to assure their well being. The center provides training in metal mechanics, carpentry, body shop repair, clothing manufacturing and computer science. The center also has a group of professionals that are trained in education and prevention of STD's/HIV/AIDS.

Adolescent Services:
An outpatient clinic that provides integral healthcare services to adolescents. Located in the Maternidad de Alto Miraflores, this clinic provides medical, dental and psychological services. Trainings are also preformed at this facility to empower these adolescents to become healthcare advocates in their own communities.

Students of CFHI’s global health education electives rotate through many of the above mentioned clinics to gain a deeper understanding of the context of illness and healing in foreign settings.  The CFHI Bolivia Global Health Education Program includes:  Pediatric Health in La Paz, Bolivia