Barriers to Health in Latin America

We recently posted about an interesting study conducted by IMPACT INTELLIGENCE in collaboration with the Bayer Foundation: "Healthy Planet, Healthy People". The study examined "Barriers and Solutions for Inclusive Health, Sustainable Agriculture, and Climate in Asia-Pacific and Latin America". After a lengthy analytical process,?the study identified 21 primary barriers and 109 sub-barriers, as well as corresponding solutions.

With two of our projects rooted in Ecuador and Venezuela, we eagerly anticipated the results of the study, and for good reason. Not only does more data provide us with invaluable insights to enhance our efforts, but studies like this also shine a light on the significant challenges facing healthcare and agricultural systems in Latin America. These findings are crucial in driving awareness and fostering change in regions that often go unnoticed. Let's take a closer look at what the study found in Ecuador and Venezuela:

Ecuador

In Ecuador, the study highlighted several concerning sub-barriers, particularly related to harmful agricultural practices that are far too common. Key findings included:

• Rural communities lack investment to make their agricultural practices more climate-resilient
• The agri-food industry uses chemical fertilizers inefficiently and excessively

We recognize that harmful agricultural practices and vulnerability to climate change can severely impact health in the long term. Studies have shown that better, more affordable access to healthcare can reduce negative coping strategies like illegal logging. This is important because illegal logging contributes to deforestation, which is a major factor in climate change. It's a cycle: improved health helps in the fight against climate change, and fighting climate change improves health!

This is why our project "Salud Esmeraldas" in Ecuador supports cocoa farmers and their families in registering for national health insurance. We go a step further by covering costs for emergency and maternal care, as well as essential medications not included in the national insurance.?

Venezuela

The study highlighted significant healthcare challenges in Venezuela, especially in rural and vulnerable communities where poor healthcare infrastructure remains a critical issue. These barriers often leave communities without adequate care, compounding existing inequalities.

At Elucid, we are addressing these gaps through our "Salud Sur Del Lago" project, partnering with local professionals and NGOs to provide essential medical services via mobile clinics. This initiative brings healthcare directly to vulnerable communities in the cocoa-growing regions around Lake Maracaibo.

Our on-the-ground work in Latin America mirrors many of the findings from the study, highlighting critical barriers to healthcare that communities face daily.

From our experience:

• Many people lack the means of transport to reach healthcare, partly due to poor road conditions, but also due to costs.
• There is a lack of doctors and other resources at primary health care centres, which makes accessing health evaluations or essential medications challenging.
• We have found that access to advanced care in the public health care systems in Ecuador and Venezuela is often only possible in emergencies, or in advanced stages of illness. This makes early prevention and detection of illness difficult.

The study underscores that each country faces unique challenges, and a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work. By gathering insights from our work, we are able to tailor our programmes to the country-specific context to make the right impact. In Venezuela and Ecuador, we're already addressing the most prevalent barriers and reaching vulnerable communities who need it most. We do this with a particular focus on the following aspects, to combat the challenges we see:

In both Venezuela and Ecuador, we...

• ?...support access to medical visits (in Venezuela also through telemedicine), and help fund the adquiration of medication.
• ...support local actors, such as NGOs in collaboration with the public health care system, and establish referral networks that allow patients to access advanced care.
• ...finance services that are not available in the public health care system, such as radiology services and laboratories

Looking ahead, our goal is to bridge the gap in public healthcare services at the earliest stages, enabling effective prevention and reducing the progression of severe health conditions.

If you’d like to explore more from the Impact Intelligence study, you can access the full report here.