On 15 August, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale shook the coast of Peru, killing 600 people, wounding 2,000 and making tens of thousands homeless. The towns most affected were Chincha, Pisco and Ica, around 200 kilometres south of Lima. The first Médecins Sans Frontières team arrived within 24 hours to assess the needs and launch emergency relief activities. The team focused its efforts in the most remote areas to the east and Guadalupe, a town in the south-east. A centre for post-traumatic and post-operative care was set up in the centre of Pisco. Mobile clinics were established in many towns, supported by 30 healthcare facilities providing medicines and epidemiological monitoring. Psychologists provided support group sessions called ‘Charlas’, and individual sessions to help people cope with the psychological effects of the disaster.

Other recent work by Médecins Sans Frontières in Peru focused on providing comprehensive care to people living with HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of HIV in the country is relatively low, although highly concentrated in marginalised groups such as commercial sex workers, drug users and prisoners. In 2004, a project was started in Villa El Salvador, the second biggest slum in Lima and home to half a million people. This aimed to decentralise HIV/AIDS care and reduce stigma and discrimination by promoting free access to care with free single-dose medication.

Médecins Sans Frontières also completed the closure of a project for sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS in the state prison of Lurigancho, the largest prison in Peru. The project was replicated in Chorillos Common, Chincha and Huaral prisons.

Médecins Sans Frontières has worked in Peru since 1985