From village to village: Lesly Huamanta is boosting vaccination efforts in the Amazon region
In the remote community of Candungos, deep in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, access to healthcare is a daily challenge. A shortage of medical staff, long distances between villages, and unstable internet connections make it difficult to reach patients and, especially to ensure adherence to vaccination schedules. Lesly Huamanta, a dedicated nurse at the local health center, changed that with the help of a vaccination tracking app.
To reach Candungos, Lesly must travel eight hours by river in the province of Condorcanqui in Amazonas. Initially, she documented treatments and vaccinations carried out in the local communities using paper records. But in the warm and humid climate, these quickly deteriorated and were prone to errors, delaying the transmission of vital information.
Then Lesly started using a new offline immunisation app, developed as part of the Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control (DIPC) initiative, funded by BMZ. The app allows users to record vaccinations, review medical histories, register adverse events, and manage personalised vaccination schedules, even without an internet connection. As soon as the device regains signal, the information is automatically synchronised with the national system.
The tool has not only improved her work but also strengthened her professional development. Today, Lesly trains healthcare personnel in her region to also implement this solution. Since its introduction, the vaccination coverage has improved significantly. With the expansion of this app to more regions, Lesly’s story is just the beginning.
Sometimes, vaccination data took months to reach the national system. That affected planning and vaccine supply. Now I can record everything instantly and accurately, even in the middle of the jungle.
Lesly Huamanta