The governments of the United States and Colombia, through the Chargé d'affaires of the United States Embassy in Bogotá, Francisco L. Palmieri, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Carolina Corcho and the commander of the Colombian Military Forces, Major General Heder Fernán Giraldo Bonilla, announce the arrival of the Hospital Ship USNS Comfort in the city of Cartagena on November 11, 2022.
The visit of the Hospital Ship USNS Comfort is part of a humanitarian mission conducted by Colombia and the United States to provide treatment and medical assistance to vulnerable people in Cartagena and areas surrounding the city by November 11 and 19, 2022. This mission reflects the close and ongoing cooperation conducted by the two Governments.
This is the seventh time the USNS Comfort has provided medical assistance in Colombia, and is part of a U.S. Southern Command regional effort that in the same way includes visits to Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The two places where medical assistance will be provided in Cartagena will be the Ignacio Amador de la Peña Coliseum of Combat Sports and Gymnastics and the Antonia Santos Ethnoeducative and Inclusive Institution.
Continuing Promise is the name that the United States Southern Command has established to provide medical care, humanitarian assistance and civic support to the communities of Latin America and the Caribbean on behalf of the American people. With United States military personnel, allied nations forces and volunteer civilian first responders, medical assistance will be provided in the areas of gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, dentistry, preventive medicine, public health education and surgeries on board the ship. It is expected that hundreds of people will be assisted daily during the mission in Colombia.
Continuing Promise 2022 highlights the ongoing work of the U.S. Government to increase regional cooperation with partner countries on humanitarian assistance, disaster preparedness and mitigation issues. In Colombia, the coordinated work of the U.S. Embassy, the Southern Command and state institutions such as the Ministry of Defense, the General Command of the Military Forces, the Ministry of Health, the Departmental Health Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Invima, the DIAN, the Government of Bolívar, the Mayor of Cartagena, and other institutions, will led the improvement of the living conditions of the vulnerable inhabitants of Cartagena and surrounding areas and the response capacity of all participants in times of crisis.
The Chargé d'affaires and the representatives of the Colombian government thanked all the sectors involved in this humanitarian mission and assured that thanks to the joint work and previous coordination, hundreds of citizens of Cartagena and surrounding areas will improve health conditions and access quality surgeries and medical care. They in the same way highlighted the participation of the actors of the health system at the local level in the preparation of this mission.
The Minister of Health and Social Protection, Carolina Corcho, assured that “the arrival of the Comfort ship strengthens our cooperative relationship with the United States, and helps us to provide support, treatment and medical assistance to the most vulnerable people in the Colombian Caribbean.”
For his part, the commander of the Colombian Military Forces, Major General Helder Fernán Giraldo Bonilla, said that “in addition to work to provide medical assistance, there is an exchange of knowledge between the Military Forces and the United States Southern Command, which reflects the close collaboration conducted by the two countries for the benefit of the vulnerable inhabitants.”
Finally, the Chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy UU., Francisco L. Palmieri said that “this mission reflects the close cooperation conducted by our two governments, as well as the permanent commitment of the United States to Colombia.”
Additional material about the mission of the USNS COMFORT ship in Colombia at the following link https://state-low.box.com/v/COMFORT2022COLOMBIA
Source: Press, U.S. Embassy