Laboratory in Paraguay
Chagas disease is one of the main public health issues in the region. However, the people affected by the infection or who have developed the disease are barely detected and only treated under exceptional circumstances.
The project refurbished two laboratories in collaboration with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in the second-level health center Teniente Irala Fernández and in the family health unit in Campo Aceval at the Presidente Hayes District in El Chaco, Paraguay.
This project has improved access and capacity for diagnosis, which has led to better treatment of T. cruzi infections and other prevalent diseases among children, such as diarrhea and malnutrition.
At the same time, health education actions were run in the communities to bolster their knowledge of diseases among the population, prevent contagion, and reduce prevalence rates.
The laboratories opened in November 2023 and are currently in operation.