Survival can be complex in the south-central peaks of the Peruvian mountains, 13,000 feet above sea level, and when medical treatment is required it is more complex still. But for over a decade, an NGO run by an Augustinian foreign mission – the Apurímac ETS – has brought doctors into the Andes to provide medical care for indigenous Quechua communities. Difficult to access due to poor roads, the Apurímac region is one of the most impoverished in the country. Cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and diabetes are leading causes of death in the region, and these health problems are often compounded by poor hygiene and nutrition, a subsistence economy, and low literacy.

This photo essay shows how medical care reaches remote Quechua communities.