Bolivia is facing an economic and political crisis that is hitting its people especially hard, with soaring inflation driving up the cost of living. Inflation, combined with import scarcity, is disrupting daily life—including access to healthcare. More patients than ever are avoiding medical care because they cannot afford it. Others wait until their conditions are advanced—when they are harder to treat. This delay has led to an increase in severe cases and worsened treatment outcomes.

Patients suffering strokes and aneurysms in Paraguay may wait months or years for treatment due to a lack of essential but highly specialized endovascular supplies. A generous donation by Stryker delivered during our June mission trip to Asunción is helping make neuro-endovascular care accessible for many such patients.

Our latest maritime shipment took just 34 days to deliver 8+ tons of medical equipment and supplies from Springfield, Illinois, to Cochabamba, Bolivia.

At our 2023 FIESTA Gala, we are honored to recognize an organization that has done more than any other to help us advance our vision that medical professionals have the necessary resources to serve their communities in Bolivia and Paraguay.

There is growing consensus that pre-travel preparation is one of the most important practices for a successful global health mission. This fall, we are offering our preparation curriculum via an online learning platform tailored to each team, specific to their host community and medical specialties.

The needs of surgical patients continue far beyond their time in the hospital. Many treated for conditions including birth defects, abdominal trauma, Chagas disease, or colon cancer may need to live temporarily or permanently with an ostomy. Increasing access to ostomy supplies is critical both for medical reasons and to preserve the dignity of patients.

By physically traveling to Sucre, we channeled skills and resources that would be otherwise unavailable to our partner surgeons and their patients. Patients like Sergio, a thirty-two-year-old intensive therapy resident and father of two.

Our shipment of supplies arrived in Paraguay as the pandemic began to surge. The delivery was presented to the hospital as small source of solidarity and support in the midst of growing health crisis.

Filling a 40-foot shipping container with medical supplies is a significant undertaking, but it is also the most efficient and effective way to addres the urgent needs of our partners and patients.

Delivering critical medical supplies to our Bolivian partners has been a key theme within our COVID response. Thanks to a generous donation by LTA Research and Exploration, more than 50,000 face shields are being distributed to medical workers on the front lines of this public health emergency.

As the government response has focused on large institutions, Puente de Solidaridad has directed a number of our supplies to smaller organizations known for working at the edges of society.

A 40-foot container filled with medical supplies arrived to our warehouse, and life-saving supply distributions began only three days later.