EL Chiru

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental

Overview

El Chiru is located in Cocle Province, the district of Anton. Panama and started to work with Global Brigades in 2025. People in El Chiru are primarily dedicated to agriculture, the houses are often made of cement blocks and bricks, and the community does not have access to a community bank, nor a health post.

Global Brigades is currently working with Medical and Dental brigades in El Chiru and the community is on the waitlist for eventual Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Panama

Province: Cocle

District: Anton

Homes : N/A
Population : 657
Water System : Not Started
Community Bank : Not Started
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : Not Started
% of Homes with Latrines : N/A

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

Even though Panama is a country with a lot of economic growth, this growth does not apply equally to all Panamanians, especially those in rural areas. This results in stark inequality when it comes to healthcare access. The Panamanian Ministry of Health (MINSA) provides two different types of health facilities throughout rural Panama: Centros de Salud and Puestos de Salud. Centros are the larger of the two, often found in municipalities, and typically have at least one physician on staff at all times with nurses and potentially a dentist. Puestos are found sporadically in rural communities and generally have a single nurse available. 

17

Medical Volunteers

80

Patient Consultations

5

Health Education Workshops

Health Post : No
Community Health Workers : Not Started

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in El Chiru attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 7 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: +100

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS:

GB Panama’s Medical Dental team started the Agentes Comunitarios en Salud or ACeS program in 2016. “Agentes” from 10 communities in East Panama and Darien were Panama’s first community health workers. El Chiru doesn’t have Community Health Workers in training yet but Global Brigades is actively working on implementing this program.

Some of the CHW’s primary responsibilities include:

  • Promoting healthy practices and maintaining contact with GB staff about their progress
  • Performing First Aid in the case of an emergency
  • Managing the Patient Referral cases of the community
  • Promoting involvement with other GB programs such as Human Rights, Public Health and Microfinance workshops
  • Recording and monitoring members of their respective communities who:
    • Are pregnant
    • Have a chronic disease
    • Are children under five
      years old.

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL CHIRU:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Florida Medical June 2025 17

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

A dental Charla in a community in Panama

In working closely with the medical program, the dental program provides fillings, extractions, and fluoride treatments as a standard part of medical brigades. Most community members do not have regular access to dental care due to the lack of dentists within a reasonable distance.

26

Patient Consultations

26

Number of Extractions

57

Fluoride Treatments

8

Dental Education Workshops

DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL CHIRU:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Florida Medical June 2025 17

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

  • Feature

The Largest Movement for Global Health and Holistic Development

“Global Brigades” refers to one or more Global Brigades entities, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity; “Global Brigades, Inc.,” “Global Brigades Health and Development,” “Global Brigades UK,” “GBO Ghana,” “Asociacion Global Brigadas de Honduras,” and “Fundacion Brigadas Globales de Panama”. Global Brigades Health and Development (“Global Brigades Canada”) is a federally registered Canadian charity independent from Global Brigades Inc.

Guidestar 2021