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Presentación animada del Prodern
Guido COUCK | 26/11/2015
Animación que presenta los objetivos, enfoques y estrategias de intervención del proyecto PRODERN I en las regiones de Ayacucho, Apurímac y Huancavelica.
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Healthcare for native communities in the Peruvian Amazon
Guido COUCK | 08/07/2015
Peru has an indigenous population of four million people, the most vulnerable of which are the indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon, with poverty rates exceeding 80%. The district of Rio Tambo (department of Junín, 300 km east of Lima) is primarily populated by the native Ashaninka. 46% of children under five suffer chronic malnutrition, and only half of the population has a health insurance.One of the priorities of the Peruvian government is to provide free healthcare to the vulnerable native communities. That poses a big challenge, as access to the remote villages is quite difficult.Within the framework of the Belgian program supporting the universal health insurance policy in Peru (SISTEC), a fact-finding and information mission to Rio Tambo district was organized in May 2015. The mission consisted of representatives of the national health insurance (SIS), the national civil register (RENIEC), regional and provincial health services and municipal officers. One of the purposes of this first joint mission was to bring together different public organizations in the health sector and to foster closer cooperation between them. The 11-day mission visited fourteen indigenous communities and nine local health centers, in order to inform the Ashaninka about their right to free health care under Peruvian law. As a result, more than 1100 people requested to be affiliated to the national health insurance. The team also discovered that the district has critical needs for basic health care, both in terms of human resources, infrastructure and drugs. The Tambo river basin has a population of 25,000 people, and there is just one nurse to attend them (no medical doctor). There are no ambulances nor medical boats for emergency interventions.FactsIn Peru, regional governments are responsible for the health districts and health centers.The national health insurance (Seguro Integral de Salud) has 500 employees and over 15 million affiliates. Peru has a total population of 31 million.The native communities in Peru have been classified as 'vulnerable' and therefore have the right to universal healthcare.The area of Rio Tambo is known for coca cultivation and drug-related activities.BTC's SISTEC program unfolds its activities in five regions: Cajamarca, Huancavelica, Junín, Piura and San Martín. The objective of the program is to provide quality healthcare to every person living in poverty.Follow SISTEC on Facebook
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Community irrigation increases agricultural production in Bolivia
Guido COUCK | 23/09/2014
Bolivia has a population of 10 million and covers more than 1 million km² (1), i.e. 30 times the size of Belgium. Only 3% of the land is cultivated and 11% of this acreage, or 300,000 hectares, is irrigated (2). While irrigation in Bolivia dates back to pre-Columbian times and lingers in several indigenous communities, the lack of irrigation is a major constraint to agricultural development in Bolivia, which has the lowest irrigated surface on the continent. However, irrigation plays a key role in the economics of agriculture. It provides the right conditions to diversify and ensure stable production. It also promotes the modernisation of farming and that way contributes to food security and food sovereignty. A hectare of irrigated land guarantees productivity and provides a higher income than a hectare of non-irrigated land and helps improve the income of Bolivian indigenous rural households.Support to community irrigationFor this purpose Bolivia and Belgium decided to launch the Support Programme to Community Irrigation (PARC) in 2011. PARC implements projects of community irrigation in 12 Bolivian municipalities in the Cochabamba and Chuquisaca Departments (in semi-arid and arid areas on the Altiplano and in the high valleys). These municipalities suffer from extreme poverty and a lack of irrigation, which limits agriculture to subsistence farming – farmers produce their own food only and cannot invest in inputs or means of production.Community irrigation projects, based on the tradition of community irrigation, are small irrigation systems with open channels, pipes or reservoirs made of earth that capture rainwater and run-off water and are called "atajados". These family- or community-level systems seek to benefit the greatest possible number of households.Today, PARC has 43 community irrigation projects in various stages of implementation (being studied, implemented or completed). These projects will benefit 1,888 households and add 1,374 hectares of irrigated land in the 12 municipalities involved. Thanks to irrigation the production of potatoes, corn, wheat, tomatoes, onions, peaches and other crops can increase.Another important result is the draft of the Strategy Plan of the National School of Irrigation and the training of more than 480 farmers and 200 technicians on different irrigation-related topics.Comprehensive vision of PARCPARC contributes to the development of irrigation in Bolivia. It differs from other development programmes because of its comprehensive approach. This vision includes farmer participation in every phase of the projects (from design to execution and management), sustainable water supply with attention for soil and water conservation methods, management of the irrigation system by the farmers themselves and agricultural diversification and production as well as the marketing of products if applicable.PARC activitiesPARC is constituted as a process facilitator and has signed 12 execution agreements with Autonomous Local Authorities and two decentralized entities of the Ministry of the Environment and Water, namely the National Irrigation Service (SENARI) and the Environmental and Water Executing Entity (EMAGUA). Through these actors studies are carried out for the preparation and implementation of projects, Comprehensive Community Irrigation Projects are executed and a regulatory framework is defined. Also training is provided through the National School of Irrigation.The implementation of a comprehensive community irrigation project includes the construction of the infrastructure and protection of the water source, monitoring and comprehensive technical assistance. The comprehensive technical assistance service supports farmers in efficient management of water, maintenance and operation of the system, as well as the production and marketing of products.Support programme to community irrigation - PARC | BoliviaDuration: 2011–2016Funding: Belgium, BoliviaOverall budget: 11,588,178 euros, of which 9,100,000 euros are financed by BelgiumArea: Cochabamba and Chuquisaca Departments(1) http://www.bolivia.de/es/bolivia/datos-generales(2) Informe de Gestión 2013, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua Bolivia, p. 63
