Healthcare in La Mosquitia
A difference between life and death for remote Honduran communities
Jun 29, 2009
La Mosquitia is located in the northeastern corner of Honduras along the Mosquito Coast and covers 8,500 square miles (20% of the whole country). The tropical rainforest region is impassible by road, meaning that small aircraft or river are virtually the only routes in. Reaching communities in La Mosquitia's interior can involve arduous journeys taking several days. As a result, many indigenous people have never met anyone outside of their community. Although such isolation preserves the way of life of the indigenous groups, who include Miskito, the Pech, Rama, Susa and Tawakha, it also means that people are dying of preventable diseases.
Rescue Task Force is a not-for-profit relief agency who work across the world. In Honduras, they have so far delivered three medical clinic facilities in La Mosquitia. In order to make a significant impact to the health of the 60,000 people living in the region however, they are striving to set-up at least another ten clinics.
Healthcare in Honduras
Honduras is the second poorest country in Central America and one of the most impoverished countries in the Western Hemisphere. Outside of Honduras' two main cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, medical care is inadequate to cope with many medical situations. Wide expanses of the country don't have access to hospitals and ambulance services are non-existent outside the cities. In the extremely remote areas of La Mosquitia where Rescue Task Force have set-up clinics, there is no other medical care available.
In particular, mosquito-borne illnesses are a problem in Honduras and malaria and dengue fever are both marked risks. More than 100,000 cases of severe respiratory illnesses are reported in Honduras every year, largely as a result of significant levels of air pollution across the country. Honduras also has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDs in Central America, with 63,000 sufferers.
Pilot Clinic in Uhsan
In 2008, Rescue Task Force set-up a pilot project clinic facility in the La Mosquitia village of Uhsan. On the first visit, the physician saw 250 people. It was the first time any of them had seen a doctor and every single person needed some form of medical attention. There were some serious trauma cases, such as wounds from machete accidents, and everyone had worm infestations and parasitic diseases. The doctor even managed to stabilize one man who had been bitten by a poisonous snake. Had the doctor not been there, he would have certainly died.
A year later, Uhsan and the region around it is a transformed place. The clinic is up-and-running and fully equipped. The resident doctor sees an average of five patients a day and other medical personnel make scheduled circuits in surrounding areas by foot, mule and canoe to run preventative health classes and deliver immunisation programs.
Most importantly, the project has been delivered in a manner that is sensitive to the indigenous communities. There have been no reports of cultural tensions and the medical staff are improving the lives of the inhabitants without imposing Western ways of life. The medical teams report that once lethargic children are now visibly more healthy and active, as are pregnant women, enabling them to perform their often back-breaking duties of looking after the home and working on the farms sites. Furthermore, the installation of wells and pumps alongside the clinic to provide clean drinking water is helping break the cycle of parasitic and water-borne diseases.
New La Mosquitia Clinics
The clinics Rescue Task Force are planning to build are based on the model that was proven to be a success in Uhsan.
- Clinic buildings are constructed from locally-sourced materials and construction itself is a community effort - men, women and children all participate.
- Medical equipment is low-tech by necessity. There is no electricity and typically adverse weather conditions in the region, meaning that all equipment must be stainless steel and operated by hand cranks.
- Each clinic has a surgical room, a labor/recovery area, a dental suite and an exam/triage room. Living quarters for the clinician are attached to the clinic building.
- The clinics are built in agreement with the Honduran government and once the clinics are built and equipped, they are handed over to the Honduran Department of Health. The Honduran government has committed itself to staff the facilities and cover all maintenance and operational costs on an ongoing basis.
Rescue Task Force: Planning for the Future in La Mosquita
The work that Rescue Task Force does not only saves lives but simultaneously preserves an indigenous way of life. Building ten more clinics to serve other such communities in La Mosquitia will cost up to US$400,000 and as a not-for-profit organisation, Rescue Task Force needs to secure funding before these additional clinics can become a reality.
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