Servicios de Salud y Suministros Esenciales para los Venezolanos en Bucaramanga y Medellin, Colombia (SSSE-VEN) Semi-Annual Report

The project is funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and will be implemented for a period of 15 months, between November 15, 2019, and February 14, 2021. The project directly benefits 45,780 people through various services, including primary health care, health messages, and the provision of essential relief items. In the health sector, project participants benefited from free primary care medical consultations, basic laboratory testing, and essential medications. The most attended age group, with 48% of all consultations, was 19 to 49 years, followed by children from 5 to 14 years old, and children under 5 years of age. In the associated clinics in Bucaramanga and Medellín, a total of 10,362 medical consultations were carried out, with 6,880 being women and 3,482 being men. The most common diseases treated were communicable diseases, with 2,041 consultations, and non-communicable diseases, with 5,901 consultations. Additionally, 353 mental health teleconsultations were carried out with a volunteer psychologist. The monitoring team followed up with patient satisfaction with the care received by health professionals at the 2 clinics, with 99.6% of respondents being completely satisfied and 0.4% being moderately satisfied. Group sessions were suspended due to crowding restrictions because of COVID-19, but in-person training sessions were promoted by the nursing team to promote sexual and reproductive health. The project also implemented hand hygiene promotion activities to reinforce good habits among the migrant population and avoid the spread of diseases. A total of 4,785 people received a WASH NFI kit, with 1,996 households receiving a complementary kit. Additionally, 1,316 households received a WASH NFI kit a second time, and 1,392 people participated in handwashing hygiene trainings. The mobile clinic began providing first response medical services to Venezuelan migrants walking between Venezuela and Colombia in May. Due to COVID-19, the border with Venezuela was closed, and the project provided care for some of the migrants in transit who arrived in the city and were relocated to temporary accommodation. The project registered 5,556 households during the reporting period, composed of 21,326 individuals, with 13,397 people in Bucaramanga and 7,959 people in Medellín. A total of 31,014 unique individuals benefited from the project, with 10,362 medical appointments in the associated clinics, 5,565 unique individuals assisted, and 9,257 people receiving medications. The project also provided transportation assistance to 9,870 people to attend medical appointments and tests, and 3,295 first response services were performed at the mobile clinic, with 3,072 people served. Additionally, 3,165 beneficiaries participated in training on sexual and reproductive health, and 19,214 people received a WASH NFI kit, with 4,578 households receiving a complementary kit. The project's activities were adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the team continued to benefit the migrant population through the implementation of health and WASH activities. The project's goal is to support the migrant population in these two cities and provide them with essential services and essential relief items.