Our Medical Work 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over one billion people worldwide currently face a “critical shortage in health care.” There are less than two doctors for every 1,000 people in Latin America due to geographic isolation and lack of transportation, as one-quarter of the Latin American population lives or works in rural areas.

Many in Latin America have chosen to leave their rural communities for better economic, educational, or health opportunities in cities. As a result, the rapid urbanization of cities has given rise to a separate host of problems, including improper sanitation, unhygienic living conditions, and a lack of basic amenities.

For the past several years, MEDLIFE has been working with students interested in medical volunteerism and global health to bring essential healthcare services to low-income communities outside of Lima, Peru and San Jose, Costa Rica, and rural areas of Cusco, Peru;  Riobamba and Tena, Ecuador; Tamarindo, Costa Rica; Antigua, Guatemala; and Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

MEDLIFE’s medical work brings healthcare through our Mobile Clinics, Health Education Workshops, and Patient Follow-Up Care Program.

When patients are simply referred to local hospitals for treatments, they often fail to receive the treatment they need due to a lack of resources, confidence, or a proper understanding of their medical problems.

For these reasons, MEDLIFE has developed a year-round patient follow-up program. We support our patients in many ways. We provide financial resources for treatments, emotional support, nutritional assistance for malnourished families, and educational resources to help individuals better understand their conditions.