Where MEDLIFE Works | Latin America & Africa | Lima, Peru
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Overseas volunteer programs

Medical missions international

WHERE WE WORK: OUR HOMES

MEDLIFE has seven main sites where we currently work – our homes. The sites are rich in culture, heritage, and natural beauty, but each also has a poverty-stricken population in need. Through our volunteer work in Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, and Tanzania, we hope to educate students about the issues of poverty that are common among all sites, as well as the issues that are unique to each specific site. In order to do so, we make sure to develop a deep understanding of the local culture, the population, and the problems they face.

 

Why Latin America & Africa

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over one billion people worldwide are facing a critical shortage in health care. Our overseas volunteer programs aim to provide assistance to those in need.

 

Millions of People suffer from disease250 million people in South America are suffering from a non-communicable disease, such as cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease.

Millions of People don't have health insurance274 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean do not have health insurance.

288,000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwideIn 2000, there were over 288,000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide. Approximately 80% of these deaths occurred in developing countries.

unsafe water result in deaths88% of diarrheal deaths worldwide are the result of unsafe water, and inadequate sanitation and hygiene.

Life ExpectancyGlobal life expectancy at birth in 2015 was 60 years in the WHO African Region and 76.8 years in the WHO European Region, giving a ratio of 1.3 between the two regions.

More than 10 million people in Africa live on less than 1 dollar per dayMore than 10 million people in Africa live on less than $1 per day, the so-called food poverty line below which people are unable to purchase enough food for an adequate diet.

Orphan children in AfricaThere are approximately 50 million orphaned children in Africa, most of them HIV-positive.

Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa accounts for 11 percent of the world’s population, yet bears 24 percent of the global disease burden and commands less than one percent of global health expenditure.