Telling stories about migration and health has become a priority for a country that, today, has more than 2.5 million Venezuelan migrants; half of them recognizing themselves as living in poverty. The workshops will be held in 11 municipalities and will discuss how to address these types of stories so as not to misinform or cause stigma. 

LHSS Colombia works with national governments to enhance the health system, focusing on local leadership, care, and integration in cities with high migratory flows like Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín.

To strengthen institutional capacities in the Mandatory Health Quality Assurance System of the Ministry of Health of Cúcuta, the Communidades Saludables of USAID and the Fundación Salutia delivered the Health Quality Management Model with its technological tool TGUÍA – IV.

Using performance-based financing, this pilot project represents a significant achievement for the Colombian healthcare system, improving the optimization of financial resources, enhancing key indicators, and notably impacting outcomes, especially for migrant pregnant women—an area receiving special attention from local and national health authorities.

Two years ago, as it struggled to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and get people vaccinated, the Government of Jamaica turned to private health care providers for help. The results went well beyond its expectations.

"Through Communidades Saludables, USAID delivered an important donation to amplify the impact of the work carried out by the Valle del Lili Foundation and ProPacífico, incorporating a focus on vulnerable populations such as migrants of different nationalities (mostly Venezuelans)."

An LHSS grantee in Colombia helps Venezuelan migrants understand how to obtain health services -- while gaining valuable knowledge and skills to strengthen its own organizational capacity.

With a grant from LHSS, the Jamaican health care firm Online Medics is supporting the government’s COVID-19 vaccination effort while gaining valuable new business capacities. “LHSS allowed me to think in the long term – where I wanted my company to go and what I need to do to get it there,” says owner Alex Tracey.

Since vaccines became available in 2021, only 26 percent of Jamaicans have been vaccinated – a far cry from the country’s goal of 65 percent by March 2022. Religious communities were among the victims of the misinformation causing vaccine hesitancy, with many of the country’s Christians believing the vaccines represented “the mark of the beast.” In response, the government called on church leaders to play a more prominent role in the country’s vaccination effort.

Meet Jessica. Her little girl is one of more than 40,000 migrants who have been enrolled in Colombia’s national health insurance system with support from the LHSS Project.

On Friday, February 25, LHSS Jamaica hosted a signing ceremony with the Jamaica Ministry of Health and Wellness and USAID to launch the Private Sector COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Partnership.

The pandemic has presented an urgent challenge to Colombia’s already overburdened, understaffed health system. Rapid response teams are traversing roads, mountain paths, and rivers to help health officials contain the spread of COVID-19.