To all our dear AMOS friends,
We continue to pray for you and the health and safety of your communities.
In these difficult times for everyone, we could not be more grateful for your solidarity and support. And we are reminded that together, we can do so much good in the world.
As of July 7th, Nicaraguan health authorities have officially confirmed 2,846 cases of COVID-19 within our borders and 91 deaths from it. A significant increase in confirmed cases began around May 19th, and some hospitals are now reaching their capacity to receive patients. Experts have indicated that after June 10th, cases would continue to increase exponentially (see graph below).
As a public health organization, the safety and health of our patients, community health workers, and staff are our highest priority, and that is why our leadership team decided as of June 5th to:
- Suspend supervision rounds during the month of June to the 23 rural communities you help us serve. During the week of June 8th, a small group of staff members visited these communities to deliver more personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical masks, plastic face guards, gloves, cleaning supplies, and needed medical equipment, such as oximeters and infrared thermometers. However, in-person meetings with health committees and health promoters will not take place, since we are trying to reduce physical interactions as much as possible.
- Instruct our health promoters to suspend non-emergency clinic visits and home visits in the month of June. Health promoters will continue to offer care during emergencies, including treating sick children, helping pregnant moms with signs of danger, and suturing wounds. They will always use their protective equipment, follow preventive measures such as handwashing and disinfecting areas commonly touched, and keep a distance of 2 meters when seeing patients when possible.
- Instruct our community health workers to suspend health committee meetings, child weighing sessions, and all community activities during June. Health promoters have been encouraged to continue communicating and coordinating with other local leaders, peers, and AMOS staff by phone. We have provided them with smartphones and increased their allotment of minutes and data to ensure they will be able to continue to use their phones in the coming months.
- Suspend operations in our 2 urban clinics in Nejapa and Villa Guadalupe for 3 weeks (June 11 – 30), and offer tele-medicine consultations via phone. Our staff and urban health educators continue to stay in touch with the most vulnerable patients in Nejapa by phone, checking on their health, sharing hopeful messages, and praying together.
- Suspend all operations at the AMOS campus for 2 weeks (June 15 – 30), and continue to support our staff that is working from home. These measures are being taken to protect our staff during this high-risk period of transmission of the virus.
At such a critical time for the health of everyone in Nicaragua, we ask for your continued prayers and support, especially for the most vulnerable people. Our leadership team will continue to monitor the situation to evaluate and adjust these measures as needed in the coming weeks, and we will keep you updated accordingly.
We hope and trust in the Lord for better times for all nations, and that we may continue to advance our ministry of sharing health and bringing hope to vulnerable people in Nicaragua during this time of crisis and for many years to come.
Sincerely,
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
~Psalm 46:1