Ecuador
COVID-19 Relief in Ecuador: Telemedicine and health education
Reducing the incidence of COVID-19 in Ecuador with a telemedicine service and hygiene training
Crisis Response
The Need
Compassion works with more than 300 churches across Ecuador, serving a total of 103,578 children. Many are in rural, remote regions, where families are living in extreme poverty. These communities lack access to many basic services, including health care.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact across Ecuador. In April 2020, news outlets began releasing horrifying images of bodies stacked on the streets as the already fragile health system collapsed under the strain. Compassion Ecuador responded by launching a telehealth system in collaboration with doctors who were formerly part of Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program. Families could call a Compassion hotline and receive medical advice, get a prescription or be referred to a specialist. However, the system just did not have the capacity to meet such an overwhelming need. Families also lacked access to personal hygiene supplies or health education to prevent the spread of the virus.
In order to expand the telemedicine system to reach all 103,578 children and families in the program, Compassion Ecuador needed to hire more physicians, as well as administrative and legal support. By providing families with hygiene education as well as supplies like face masks, soap and bleach, our partners hoped to help contain the spread of the coronavirus and protect these highly vulnerable communities.
Our Response
Thanks to your generosity, Compassion Ecuador was able to expand its telemedicine service to benefit the people of Ecuador. The implementation team developed protocols and guidelines for telemedicine care in May of 2020. Compassion Ecuador hired 11 doctors, an administrative assistant and an information analyst to increase the telemedicine service’s capacity. The service operated nationwide for nine months and was made available to all Compassion beneficiaries and their families. During this time, 68,728 children and 2,453 caregivers used the system. Physicians diagnosed 52 cases of COVID-19 in beneficiaries and 97 cases in family members. All received guidance for their treatment. In addition, through a budget amendment, three pastors who became seriously ill were able to receive proper care and treatment. Thankfully, all three pastors have recovered.
In addition, in September 2020, 1,226 staff and volunteers from 190 church partners took part in virtual training sessions on COVID-19 prevention and disaster management. A total of 14 communication products such as videos, visuals and sound bites were created and distributed to frontline church partners nationwide. Over a period of five months, church partners were able to educate parents and children on preventive health measures and proper hygiene. Families living in especially hard-hit areas also received hygiene kits that included masks, gloves and cleaning supplies. Churches pitched in to help, too, providing financial support to distribute hygiene kits to families in especially vulnerable regions, and covering the cost of hygiene education for the beneficiaries. Caregivers also participated in quizzes after the training to demonstrate their knowledge gained on hygiene and nutrition. Winners received prizes.
The pandemic has also had an impact on children’s mental and emotional health. To address this need, two qualified psychologists were hired to establish a separate private telehealth system providing psychological attention. This service operated for three months. During that time, 66 children and 50 family members were able to receive professional psychological support.
Activities
Telehealth system: Physicians were able to provide medical advice, make diagnoses and prescribe treatment to beneficiaries and their families through Compassion’s private telehealth hotline.
Hygiene kits: Families in the hard-hit areas of Guayas and Guayaquil received hygiene kits containing detergent, hand soap, bleach and disinfectant.
Health education: Staff and volunteers from Compassion centres across Ecuador attended virtual training sessions to learn about COVID-19 prevention, personal hygiene and safety protocols. Children and their parents were also able to attend online sessions to learn about COVID-19 prevention and personal hygiene, as well as other health-related topics including nutrition. To encourage participation, caregivers could enter contests and win prizes for demonstrating their knowledge.
Your Gift Provides...
● Hygiene training for Compassion staff and volunteers, including:
○ Preparation of communication products (e.g., nutrition manual and audio spots)
○ Purchase of aprons and first-aid kits as training prizes
○ Content educators/facilitators
● Hygiene kits for 15 days for 53,472 beneficiaries in areas with high infection rates (soap, bleach and detergent)
● 15-day supply of basic protection kits containing masks and gloves for hard-hit families of 13,594 beneficiaries from the province of Guayas and the city of Guayaquil
● Private telehealth service for nine months, including:
○ Salary for 11 qualified doctors
○ Telephone service fees
○ Telehealth coordinator responsible for the management and operation system
○ Information analyst
○ Legal advisory services
● Private psychological telehealth service for 3 months, including:
○ Professional fees for 2 qualified psychologists
○ Administrative fees
○ Information analyst
● Medical attention and follow-up for 3 pastors
● National office management (supervision of information collection and processing)
ReportA message from those your gift helped
Because of the COVID-19 situation, my family and I were very sad and even depressed. It was very difficult for my father to work, and we spent all our time locked up in the house.
The delivery of hygiene kits and the home visits brought us much joy in the midst of the confinement. We were able to realize that we were far from God as a family, and that during this pandemic we needed Him more than ever. We were able to get closer to God again through the words and prayers of the sisters from the church. We have also realized that taking care of our health is very important so that we don’t get infected. Now we take protective measures more seriously. In the future, we will seek God during each problem. We will be obedient to what our authorities tell us.
As a family, we have learned to trust God and that our lives have no meaning without Him. We learned how to take care of our health and wash our hands frequently.
Thank you for all the help you have given us during this difficult time, and for the spiritual and emotional help you gave us when my family was going through depression. Thank you for the products for our protection, which will help us a lot during this crisis. May God continue blessing you.
ReportThank you for your generosity
Because of your kindness, 68,728 children and 2,453 caregivers in Ecuador were able to access professional medical attention during this critical time. Staff and volunteers received hygiene education, which they were then able to transmit to beneficiaries across the country during the most threatening months of the pandemic.
Your generosity has saved lives, helping provide medical care and follow-up for three pastors who fell seriously ill with COVID-19. Children and families who caught the virus were able to receive timely diagnoses and guidance to prevent them from spreading it to others. They are relieved and grateful. Follow-up with beneficiaries and their families confirms that they continue to use good hygiene practises and COVID-19 prevention measures at home. Information on nutrition has helped them to make healthy food choices to strengthen their immune systems. Thanks to the hygiene education, hygiene kits and telemedicine service, the incidence of morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 has been reduced among Compassion beneficiaries across the nation. By providing children and families with access to a professional psychologist, you have also supported their mental and emotional health—a critical part of holistic wellness.
Thanks to you, these families know they are not alone. In their most difficult hour of need, God provided for them in ways they could never have imagined. Churches have been empowered and equipped to continue supporting families in need and have become even more aware of their calling to shine the light of the gospel in their communities. As churches look to the future, the knowledge they’ve gained from this experience will continue to reap benefits as they face and overcome the challenges ahead. Thank you for showing the love of Jesus through your generous gift!
ReportA message from a centre director
The beneficiaries and their families are more protected against the spread of the virus, thanks to the delivery of protective supplies and the information given for prevention. They have become more aware of the situation. They are stricter with their use of masks, hand washing and the application of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Thanks to this intervention, the church and community members are more informed, and awareness of the situation has been raised. The church and the community are more alert and better able to face the new wave and new strains of the virus that are present in our country.
Through the delivery of protection supplies, we were able to help the physical development of our beneficiaries, protect their health and at the same time contribute to their academic development through training.
Through your support, many people were able to protect themselves when they had to go out to work. Sometimes, they didn’t have the resources to buy these items. It has been of benefit to the whole family. They needed it so much. Thank you!