• Capable personnel: accredited doctors and nurses permanently placed to assist Health Centers in rural, widely dispersed areas.
• Medical supplies: antibiotics, snake-bite kits, rabies vaccines, medication for elderly, as well as for the treatment of diabetes and HIV.
• Medical equipment for disabled individuals (wheelchairs, neck braces, walkers, etc.).
• Ambulances to transport inhabitants from isolated rural communities to Health Centers to receive medical attention.
• Comprehensive promotion of campaigns for preventative health screenings and wellness strategies such as: pelvic exams and mammographs for women; the use of condoms and contraceptive methods to prevent premature pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; an accident prevention campaign; physical exercise (e.g. walk to school/work day), balanced nutrition; programs to support emotional and psychological illness among at-risk populations; prevention of diseases such as AIDS, dengue, and substance addiction; adequate consumption of water and food to prevent infectious diseases.
• Extension of the capacity of rehabilitation centers (alcohol and drug addiction) with established programs and counseling personnel, as well as participatory programs aimed at drug awareness and prevention.
• Improve attention and care for those suffering from physical disabilities and mental illness.
• Improved care and assistance to elders.
• Distribution of information on prevention and adequate management of illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
• Creation of dog shelters/humane societies with the goal of controlling infections or illnesses that stray animals may cause.
• Creation of nonprofits to combat drug use with an emphasis on prevention.
• Need for improved pediatric care across the state.
• Occupational health education and outreach with particular emphasis on agricultural workers and fishermen.
• Additional research on air and water pollution and links to human health.

Opportunities for Philanthropy

Giving

• Donations of medical supplies and equipment specifically for handicapped patients (wheelchairs, orthopedic collars, baby walkers, prosthesis).
• Donation of ambulances.
• Funding for centers dedicated to mental and emotional health, as well as therapy programs focused on the rehabilitation of mental health patients.
• Support for the creation of nonprofits dedicated to assisting vulnerable groups (young drug addicts, alcoholics, AIDS victims, women and children victims of violence, the elderly, the disabled).
• Create local/regional capacity in the area of environmental health and occupational health education, outreach and public advocacy.
• Financing of campaigns such as the heart disease prevention program and the program aimed at providing activities for diabetic patients.
• Creating canine shelters to sterilize cats and dogs, as well as the practice of euthanasia for ill animals.
• Creating a children’s hospital in La Paz.
• Providing support for new academic research on air and water pollution and links to human health.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Health professionals able to develop and participate in preventive campaigns.
• Participation in orientation campaigns aimed at children and youth, regarding the issues of drug addiction, contraceptives and prevention methods.
• Donations of time by health educators for prevention and rehabilitation programs in community centers.
• Donations of space and time for therapy sessions for the elderly the disabled, and youth with emotional problems.
• Assistance by medical and paramedic personnel to carry out preventative and emergency medicine workshops in rural communities.
• In-kind donation of medical care by trained medical professionals with an emphasis on rural areas.
• Participation in raising awareness in schools about the damage that drugs create with the aim of preventing more drug use.
• Visiting elderly or sick patients when they are alone in a clinic or hospital.

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