Help Santa Cruz, Bolivia Fight COVID-19

Bolivia has the second highest rate of poverty in South America . With a population of 11.7 million people, it only has 35 ICU beds  designated for COVID-19 patients.The hardest hit department has been Santa Cruz, consisting of 66% of all cases within the country. At the rate that the virus is spreading within the city, they will need to quadruple the amount of ICU beds  and hire more staff to have a fighting chance. Unfortunately, some hospitals have opted not accept COVID 19 cases because they do not have the appropriate PPE needed to care for these patients. 

A strict quarantine began on March 12th , where citizens were only allowed to leave their homes once a week based on the last digit of their ID’s.  Despite these strict lock down measures, as of 06/07/2020, the Bolivian Ministry of Health   reports 8,556 cases in Santa Cruz alone, with the total amount of new cases rising rapidly. The doctors and nurses from Santa Cruz provinces are unprepared to face this amount of sick patients, and do not have enough face shields, N95 masks, safety glasses, and other PPE for them to safely provide care, risking their lives everyday to help their communities. With all the wealthy countries purchasing all available PPE and ventilators, it has truly become a challenge for Bolivia to acquire the basic equipment needed to protect their doctors and patients.

This is why I have teamed up with Respira Bolivia, a non-profit organization based in Santa Cruz. They are a group of people working diligently to help give Bolivia a fighting chance at holding the epidemic at bay. You can learn about their valuable work here.

We ask for your help in donating to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for the medical staff in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The whole of humanity must fight COVID-19 back. Please consider helping our cause!

 

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”