Medical aid for Peru's dispersed people: Commission backs project

Peruvians who fled Shining Path guerrilla insurgents in Ayacucho province are at present regaining the remote rural communities they were obliged to abandon. But health services for them are practically non-existent. The European Union is backing a project to provide basic primary healthcare for about 80,000 people affected.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has made available a grant of 200,000 ECU for a six-month programme that Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland will carry out on the spot.

MSF-H, which has long experience in the country, will work extensively with local staff whom it will train in basic health care procedures. The project will aim to provide emergency medical care, and will supply essential drugs and medical supplies. It will back up this work with an immunisation programme, as well as the supply of water and basic sanitation facilities.