Health

Ecuadorean Health-Care Providers Make the Most of Donated Supplies

An infant receives treatment with the aid of supplies donated by CFHI.

"Patients must pay to be seen at our clinic so we can cover our base costs, but when we use donated supplies and medications, we don't have to charge the patients as much."

Betsy Fuller Matambanadzo of Child Family Health International (CFHI) traveled to Ecuador in March to evaluate the impact of medical donations that went to hospitals and clinics throughout the country, thanks to CFHI's RECOVER program.

The program salvages medical supplies and equipment that might otherwise end up in U.S. landfills and sends them to developing countries that need them. Last year, Ecuadorean clinics and hospitals received more than $350,000 worth of donations from CFHI.

Because of the poor state of Ecuador's economy and the expense of medical supplies produced overseas, Ecuadorian hospitals and clinics may lack even basic supplies. Matambanadzo found that throughout the country, donated items such as medicines, wheelchairs and crutches, gloves, sutures and bandages were filling a great need.

"Patients must pay to be seen at our clinic so we can cover our base costs, but when we use donated supplies and medications, we don't have to charge the patients as much," Dr. Leonardo Gaona said. He added that the donated items are often of much higher quality than the limited supplies they can get from the Ecuadorean Ministry of Health.

Dr. Monica Andrade, who works in a community clinic in a neighborhood of Quito, sees about 30 patients during a 4-hour time period each day. She said all donated supplies go to immediate use, but gloves are especially needed. "The more we have on hand, the less we have to clean them and reuse them over and over."

In Ecuador, patients are responsible for buying the medicines and supplies necessary for treatment; if they cannot afford to buy them, they may not receive proper treatment. At the Subcentro de Salud Simon Bolivar, in the Pastaza province of the Ecuadorean Amazon, a child with a life-threatening case of meningitis was saved by a CFHI-donated drug that otherwise would not have been an option because of its expense.

Ermelita Ones, 51, received one of 22 donated wheelchairs that would have been thrown away in the United States. During a surgical procedure last year, she underwent respiratory and cardiac arrest and has been unconscious since. Her son, Dr. Edwin F. Paredes Ones, said that because of the wheelchair and other donations, including a mattress that protects her skin from infection, he believes she now has a chance for significant recovery.

Despite the obstacles, there is hope and faith. As Sister Rebecca Barzallo, of Hogar Cristo Rey Elderly Home in Cuenca, eloquently stated with a smile, "We need everything, it's terrible! But although there is very much pain and suffering here, the gardens are beautiful, aren't they?"

For more information, contact Betsy Fuller Matambanadzo, CHFI program coordinator, at betsy@cfhi.org or (415) 863-4900.