Socios En Salud (SES) celebrates 29 years of demonstrating that transforming the healthcare system in Peru is possible. Since 1996, it has accompanied millions of people with medical care, science, technology and proximity. Its anniversary not only celebrates the past, but renews a collective promise: to guarantee the right to health for all, especially for those who historically need it most.
Unlike other organizations, SES does not have an exit plan. It is where it is most needed, for as long as it is needed. It combines the rigor of science with the warmth of community accompaniment. It does not work in parallel to the State, but alongside it, generating structural changes from within, with scalable, sustainable public policies oriented towards collective well-being.
In 2024, SES reached more than 356,000 people through screening campaigns. More than 12,000 received sustained community accompaniment and more than 11,000 accessed diagnosis and treatment. Each figure encapsulates a story, a face, a community transformed.
What began as a response to tuberculosis (TB), back in 1996 and under the leadership of Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Jim Kim, today encompasses mental health, HIV, maternal, child and adolescent health, social protection, non-communicable diseases and cancer.
Dr. Jim Kim en la inauguración del auditorio Juan Roussin en el primer local de Socios En Salud en el AA.HH Raúl Porres Barrenechea, Carabayllo, Lima, 1996.
Innovation that saves lives and drives policy
In TB, we screened more than 100,000 people and 87% started treatment in less than a week. We promoted shorter, more effective and humane regimens, now adopted by the Ministry of Health (MINSA). In mental health, we accompanied more than 31,000 people with community models validated by the State. And SES’s Clinical Trials Unit (UNEC) leads key research for infectious diseases in global consortia.
Our HIV and STI intervention totaled more than 180,000 free tests. Thanks to our model, 7 out of 10 people diagnosed started treatment immediately. The Socios En Salud Polyclinic was consolidated as a safe space for trans women, adolescents and migrants, with comprehensive care, without stigmas. So much so that, in 2024, we were pioneers in Peru in applying TB-LAM tests for people affected by tuberculosis, approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
We also strengthened the fight against cancer and non-communicable diseases. We performed more than 640 free mammograms, delivered medication to more than 950 people and expanded the model of care for people with diabetes and hypertension. In the district of Carabayllo, 7 out of 10 children at risk improved their development. And 98% of pregnant women attended had access to prenatal checkups on time.
Primeros botiquines que organizó Socios En Salud, en el AA.HH. 28 de julio, Carabayllo. Lado izquierdo: Cristina Núñez Peralta, actual agente comunitaria de salud del Programa de Desarrollo infantil de Socios En Salud.
Communities at the center, allies on a par
Our presence is sustained and community-based. In 2024, more than 11,200 people received accompaniment thanks to our community agents, local people trained to articulate with the health system. We are committed to the human link as a driver of change. In addition, we trained more than 5,000 professionals at the Global Health Center, strengthening knowledge from the grassroots level.
Every program we promote demonstrates that quality public health is possible when scientific evidence is combined with care, training and replication at the public level. For every dollar invested in community health, a return of ten dollars is generated. This is an invitation to join forces from business, academia, cooperation or citizenship. Because transformation is sustainable when it is shared.
We are not a traditional NGO. We work for systemic impact, with deep and multi-sectoral alliances. From Harvard University to regional governments, from indigenous communities to purpose-driven businesses, we know that lasting change is achieved through collaboration. Our mission is to bridge health gaps, and we do it by transforming structures, not just addressing symptoms.
A 29 años de su fundación, Socios En Salud sigue caminando junto a las comunidades más vulnerables, llevando salud, esperanza y justicia hasta donde nadie más llega.
Foto de SES
Multiply health with equity: you can join us too
In this anniversary month, we want to invite you to be an active part of the transformation. You can donate, collaborate, share or propose alliances. Each contribution allows more girls to have access to prenatal care, people with HIV to have dignified care, people living with schizophrenia to continue with their treatment and achieve a job reinsertion.
Your contribution can multiply the impact. Help us bring diagnostics to the jungle, medicines to rural communities, psychological support to those going through cancer or depression. At SES, innovation does not stay in the laboratory: it reaches the neighborhood, the health center, the dining room, the home where it is needed. And you can make it go further.
As we celebrate our 29th anniversary, we renew our commitment to the country. With each program, with each professional trained, with each person accompanied, we say yes: that another health is possible. Celebrate with us this anniversary by supporting our work. Donate today, become a volunteer, share this story. Together, we can achieve that access to health does not depend on luck, but on justice.
