GlobeMed at Loyola University Chicago partners with Jambi Huasi in Otavalo, Ecuador to improve women's health and build capacity at a primary care clinic.
GlobeMed at Loyola University Chicago + Jambi Huasi
Chapter
GlobeMed at Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, Illinois
Partner
Jambi Huasi | Otavalo, Ecuador
Key Fact
In Ecuador, women of childbearing age make up about 15 percent of the general population and have a maternal mortality rate of 125 per 100,000 live births.
National surveys have shown that about 31.3 percent of births in Ecuador are attended by unskilled personnel, and there is a high risk of disease which can sometimes result in cancer over time.
“GlobeMed has opened me to understand that under-served communities exist worldwide and that love, solidarity and humility are the main assets that will help us move forward. This network has encouraged me to appreciate human lives regardless of political boundaries. Through GlobeMed, my contribution to the world starts with health care.“
– Ghislaine Feussom, Loyola University Chicago ’11
“Un pueblo sano es un pueblo libre (a healthy people is a free people).”
– Jambi Huasi
About the Partnership
Jambi Huasi, meaning “House of Health” in Quichua, was founded in 1984 by an organization of indigenous people called FICI (Federación Indígena y Capesina de Imbabura) who were fighting for the right to health. Jambi Huasi is a primary care clinic offering both Western and traditional affordable medical care to the Ecuadorian people, especially the indigenous population. Their main clinic is located in Otavalo just north of the capital Quito in the Imbabura province. They have also begun outreach health programs to surrounding communities.
With this unique intercultural model of health, Jambi Huasi aims to eliminate health disparities that have been built over decades of discrimination against the indigenous population. They work by a motto of “Un pueblo sano es un pueblo libre” (A healthy people is a free people) and have begun to improve their maternal health services by partnering with GlobeMed at Loyola.
Project
This year, GlobeMed at Loyola University has raised over $8000 to implement a maternal health program which trains 30 midwives on topics like hygiene and birth complications. Midwives are essential to maternal care in Ecuador, often being the only health workers attending the birthing process. GlobeMed at Loyola is also supporting the expansion of Jambi Huasi’s service capacity by subsidizing medicines and updating medical equipment.
Impact
This project will expand the coverage of patient care through the combination of community workshops and medical care in order to promote healthy lives and prevent disease. It will promote knowledge, skills and abilities in traditional birth attendants, improving the health status and lives of women and newborns in rural and marginal urban areas of Otavalo. Adjustments in facilities and basic equipment will ensure an improvement in quality of care, and mechanisms will be implemented to allow Jambi Huasi to get extra financial resources generated by the medical services.
Get Involved
Read GlobeMed at Loyola’s annual report and donate to their cause. Interested in joining the chapter? Contact loyola@globemed.org.
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