Doctors of the World Canada

Published purpose

More than four decades of internal violence has resulted in Colombia dealing with one of the largest displaced populations in the world with more than three million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Department of Meta has been particularly affected by political violence in recent years and as a result, numbers of displaced persons from Meta have risen sharply. The objective of this project is to increase vulnerable populations' access to basic health care, psychosocial support, and accompaniment services for 4,300 people affected by the armed conflict in 3 municipalities of Meta Department in Colombia. With CIDA support, Médecins du Monde aims to set up emergency mobile health clinics to cover emergency first aid training, as well as training on basic health issues, their management and treatment. Nine mobile clinics expect to provide basic emergency medical services to conflict-affected communities located in isolated areas of the department, where very few humanitarian organizations are operational. Expected outcomes include: improved health status of persons living in rural areas who have been displaced or confined; improved health services as well as services to reduce threats to personal security; and communities affected by the armed conflict provided physical accompaniment to access health services.