Fundación Baylor Colombia
Fundación Baylor Colombia was established at the end of 2014 with the signing of cooperation letters between the hospitals of Manaure and Riohacha, with the support of Chevron, Ecopetrol, the Office of the First Lady of Colombia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Health & Social Protection. Our area of service, La Guajira, struggles with various critical health problems, including high rates of infant and maternal mortality. These problems are largely the result of lack of access to health care for high-risk populations and health education and training for children, mothers and public health professionals.
Fundación Baylor Colombia has focused its efforts on the Indigenous Health & Self-Sufficiency Program, known as SAIL (Salud y Autosuficiencia Indígena). The program works in partnership with the existing health system in La Guajira. Activities in the communities of Riohacha and Manaure are aimed at providing integrated solutions, driven by the local community and focused on five objectives: access, capacity, surveillance, prevention and partnership.
At A Glance
Location:
Founded:
BUDGET (USD):
EMPLOYEES:
Patients:
Professionals TRAINED:
Riohacha, Colombia
2014
1.5 Million
58
7,315
191
*The data reported covers our work in the 2022 fiscal year.
Notable Programs
Pediatrics
The Baylor Foundation Colombia pediatrics program has been attending to children in the department of La Guajira for since 2014. It aims to promote the health and well-being of Wayuú children through the promotion and prevention of health problems, early diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and encouraging development and a healthy lifestyle through education.
In 2019, we attended 929 children, promoted healthy lifestyles, and helped mothers learn about the importance of breastfeeding. We also have helped parents detect early warning signs in children, contributing to the decrease in morbidity and mortality by referring them to early consultation.
Nutritional Recovery Center of Manaure
Since 2017, Baylor Foundation Colombia has operated the Nutritional Recovery Center in Manaure, in coordination with the National Family Welfare System, in an effort to reduce malnutrition in children under five. Intramural care is offered to children without additional pathologies to recover their nutritional state. An interdisciplinary team and support staff comprised of general practitioners, nutritionists, social workers, and pediatricians collaborate to provide medical care, nutritional supplements, and for promoting nutritional and health guidance.
This approach addresses the child within various social, economic, and political contexts and allows us to provide comprehensive care that takes into account the diversity of our patients. Once healthy, children are referred to early childhood programs managed by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, where they are able to develop alongside their peers.
Alimercambio
Alimercambio is a project that was developed with the help of Bancalimentos, Caminos de Identidad Foundation, Foment Bank of Latin America “CAF,” Éxito, and Chevron to implement a self-managed and sustainable triple impact model (health, economy and environment) of food security and environmental recovery, by allowing vulnerable populations in Manaure to exchange recyclable materials for food.
The project began in 2019 with recycling in Manaure and expanded in the Mayapo District with the opening of a rural service point. During 2019, nine tons of recyclable materials were collected and 1,006 people participated in the exchange.
Family Planning For Men And Women
The Wayúu Family Planning program is implemented at the Baylor Foundation Colombia Health Center in the rural Jieyusirra community, seeking to raise awareness among Wayúu women and families about family planning. We are helping to increase the quality of life of the Wayúu communities by incorporating new approaches, reducing costs and promoting gender equity.
The target population for this project includes women of childbearing age, multiparous women and women of high obstetric risk and served 829 women in 2019.
Basic And Advanced Obstetric Gynecology And Sonography
Baylor Foundation Colombia provides services at the Jieyusirra Health Center, in Manaure and the “El Pájaro” region. In 2019, obstetrics and gynecology services were added to help reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, improve the nutrition of indigenous women and antenatal development.
The Obstetrics & Gynecology team evaluates pregnant women to identify pregnancy risk factors and pathologies associated with each pregnancy. Nearlhy 1,000 patients accessed services and 820 obstetric ultrasounds were performed.
TESTIMONIALS
Diana Pacatavita
My name is Diana Pacatavita, internal medicine physician at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. I want to tell you about one of the experiences I had in my university career. Together with Paula Marín, we assist and support Baylor Foundation Colombia in their programs in the state of La Guajira. We shared with the Wayúu children, we identified signs and symptoms of malnutrition, and at the same time, we learned to manage the illness. Of course, we enjoyed every corner of La Guajira and received all the love that the Wayúu culture had to offer us. It really has been, is and will be one of the best experiences of my life. I thank the Baylor Foundation Colombia for its excellent work and the people who work there to make this the best rotation and experience of all.
Joryelis González
My name is Joryelis González, mother of Luisanyelis Oquendo beneficiary of the Nutritional Recovery Center. At home we sometimes did not have food to eat because I do not work and we live from selling mochilas. When the CRN team arrived, I did not know that my daughter was malnourished.
They said they wanted to help me and explained to me what they were doing in the Manaure Center. At first, I hesitated but then I accepted so that my daughter could get well. At the center, they give the two of us everything: we eat three times a day, bathe and clean our clothes. My daughter is already gaining weight and my family is happy, they tell me that she is more beautiful. Here I have also learned what the signs of malnutrition are and how important vaccines are and how they assist in growth and development. They also taught me how to make bread so I can take my earnings home with me.
Karol Rios Arregoces, General Practitioner
The Nutritional Recovery Center is not only a job, it is an experience that Baylor Foundation Colombia has allowed me to live. It is an approach to the reality of many families that do not have resources to meet basic needs, in which each of the employees contributes their knowledge and works to improve both the nutritional status of the patients, as well as the families through the development of productive projects.
Spaces are also created to promote breastfeeding and maternal reluctance, early stimulation and activities that strengthen the neurodevelopment of minors, as well as the education of family members and promoting cultural roots taking into account our different approaches.
We work as a team and have an impact on the health of Guajira and migrant populations. In addition, Baylor Foundation Colombia strives for the well-being of its employees, which encourages daily work.
Featured Videos
Leadership
Ana María Galvis
Executive Director
PARTNERS
Chevron
Ecopetrol
Fundación Exito
Sociedad Colombiana de Pediatria
Alcaldía de Manaure
Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia
Rv Farmacéutica
Sanuteam Energy
Lexmana
The University of Antioquia
The University of La Sabana
The University of the North (Universidad del Norte, Colombia)
Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA)
The University of La Guajira
Banco de Desarrollo de America Latina
The International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Hocol Petroleum Ltd.
Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar)
International Finance Corporation - World Bank Group
International Medical Corps
Comfaguajira
Cendex
Pontifical Javierian University (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana)
The Ashmore Foundation
Noble Energy, Inc.
Caribbean Educational Corporation Cedelca (Corporacion Educativa del Caribe Cedelca)
Fundación Caminos de Identidad (FUCAI)
Simón Bolívar Foundation
Preemptive Love
Annual Reports
A program of Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI), Texas Children’s Hospital and Chevron to improve health outcomes in a remote region of Colombia recently was awarded for its impact in the South American country.
Launched in January 2014, the initiative is based in La Guajira, one of the Colombia’s most impoverished states with a large indigenous community and high child and maternal mortality rates. Called SAIL (Salud y Autosuficiencia Indígenas en La Guajira), the program is a public-private partnership of Chevron, the central and departmental governments of Colombia, the state of La Guajira, and the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Colombia, an affiliate non-government organization of BIPAI.