+Some figures

•The surface area of Colombia is 1.1 million square kilometres, a large territory that comprises inhospitable zones of difficult access and generally only reached by air.  

•The population of 43 million inhabitants is principally concentrated in the Urban Zones and 30% live in the rural areas where specialist medicine is virtually non existent.

•In these zones 15% of the population live in precarious conditions, and do not have access to the services that the larger city hospitals can provide.

•The infant population under 16 years of age is 50% of the juvenile total of 22 million.

•The variety of climatic conditions and natural surroundings carry with them a diverse pathological breeding ground.

•In some regions the topography makes access by land virtually impossible and this is the reason why PAC-ANTIOQUIA uses air transportation and transports what could be termed as a mobile hospital.

As an example:

The Department of Chocó

Land Area
46,530 km2-4% of the Colombian total
Population
410,116 inhabitants – 1% of the Colombian total.
Infant Population
205,000 – 50% of total
Geographic distribution
42% live in Quibdó the capital
Characteristics
Annual rainfall is 7,000mm which means that it is a damp tropical rain forest.
The dampness favors pulmonary, digestive and dermatological infections.