The Need in Bolivia

Almost 95% of rural Bolivians live below the poverty level (the income level required to provide the most basic human necessities). This appalling rural poverty rate is the world's highest, surpassing Bangladesh and countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

Poverty accompanies high unemployment rates. Only 29% of all Bolivians available for employment, primarily those living in urban areas, hold permanent jobs. Others depend on subsistence agriculture; on buying and then reselling small quantities of produce and other items in the open markets or on street corners; or on providing occasional services such as carrying purchases for shoppers or hand washing clothing for others. Children are often forced to abandon their education to help support their families. The majority of rural Bolivians are essentially excluded from the formal economic structure of the country. Rural family income varies from $100 - $300 annually. About 16% of these families have access to electricity, 15% to water outside the home (not potable water), and only 2% have any type of plumbing. 

The impact of this poverty falls especially hard on Bolivia's mothers and children. Of 100,000 live births, 650 women will lose their lives (the highest maternal death rate in Latin America). In the rural Cochabamba provinces, the location of most of Mano a Mano's clinics, 300 of every 1000 children die by age one. Most of these deaths result from preventable gastrointestinal infections and diseases for which effective vaccinations are available.

About 65% of the population has no geographic access to medical care. Many others do not receive care because they simply cannot pay for it. Medical supplies and equipment are prohibitively expensive, with non-profit and government operated health programs often lacking the most basic items. The lack of supplies seriously compromises their capacity to provide care for those who have no ability to pay.