Sponsor the Care of a Latin American Burned Child

Every 5 seconds, a burn injury requiring medical treatment occurs worldwide. In Latin America, the true number is unknown, but it’s suspected to be in the millions. The rate of child deaths from burns is over seven times higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Alarmingly, 7 out of 10 children suffer from burn injuries before reaching the age of 4. We firmly believe that no child’s life should be tragically impaired by a burn.

COANIQUEM BCF functions in the U.S. to obtain the resources that are needed to provide free rehabilitation to children and young people from the entire continent, to train health professional from more than 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to carry out global burn prevention campaigns. Coaniquem BCF has been awarded a new grant from “The Worthy Projects Foundation” for $5,000.00 to support our mission. This brings our YTD total support in the U.S. to near $30,000.00.

We are currently working to develop the Latin America Burn Registry Project through a grant of $257,000 (over 24 months) awarded by The Packard Foundation.  This groundbreaking initiative called RELAQ, aims to consolidate and analyze burn injury data across Latin America. By gathering comprehensive information about burn incidents, treatments, and outcomes, RELAQ will provide a valuable resource for healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers. This data-driven approach will lead to more effective prevention strategies, improved treatment protocols, and better outcomes for burn victims.

Another major initiative is to upgrade our web page, https://burnedchildren.org/, to a more informative and user friendly experience.

it was officially announced on March 19,2024 that the founder and Presidet of Coaniquem, Dr. Jorge Rojas Zegers, has been awarded the National Medicine Award 2024 of Chile.

This recognition highlights his vast career, among which is the creation of COANIQUEM almost 45 years ago. The National Medicine Award is a recognition given by doctors to their peers and has been awarded for 22 years, setting it as the highest award a doctor can obtain in Chile. This recognition values the trajectory in the clinical or public health area and a prominent role in teaching, academic administration or research.

The award is given by the Association of Medical Schools of Chile (ASOFAMECH), the Chilean Academy of Medicine, the Association of Medical Scientific Societies of Chile (ASOCIMED) and the Medical College of Chile.

The nomination was made by the Chilean Society of Pediatrics with the support of the Chilean Society of Plastic Surgery, in coordination with a small team from COANIQUEM.

The nomination was supported by the rectors of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Austral de Chile, Universidad Católica de Concepción, Universidad Católica del Maule, Universidad Católica del Norte, Universidad de Concepción, Universidad Federico Santa María, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso y la Universidad del Desarrollo, as well as the deans of medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Diego Portales and Universidad de Los Andes.

In turn, this nomination was supported by the highest authorities of foreign Burn Centers: Aniquem (Peru), Roosevelt Hospital (Guatemala), Fundaniquem (Honduras), Ecuaquem (Ecuador), Fundación Piel para Renacer (Colombia), Instituto de Apoio ao Queimado (Brazil), CRISAQ Foundation (Honduras), Cerniquem (Bolivia), CEREQUEM (Bolivia) and Centro Infantil de Quemados Dra. Thelma Rosario (Dominican Republic).

In addition to the creation of COANIQUEM, the award highlights Dr Rojas´ role in the creation and promulgation of Law 19.680 - which prohibits the domestic use of fireworks in Chile - being an innovator with the use of electronic medical records and telemedicine in Chile, his participation as a pre and post graduate teacher, as well as the publication of more than 30 scientific articles on topics such as the treatment of palatal fissure, the epidemiology of burns in the pediatric population in Chile and the bacterial colonization of the skin of burned children, among others.

Without a doubt, this recognition fills us with pride as it recognizes how the exemplary dedication and commitment of Doctor Rojas has impacted the lives of more than 145 thousand children and adolescents with burns who have been treated at COANIQUEM throughout its over four decades of history.

Dr.rojas has made it possible that every burned child in Chile and neighboring countries can receive free and and timely medical treatement until they are an adult.