💡 Health Facilitator
Also known as: Health Promoter, penitentiary health promoter, Health Pair
Incarcerated person trained to accompany and guide their peers in accessing healthcare within the penitentiary facility. A role created by Liberté in 2021 within Unidad Penal N°15.
The health facilitator is a role that emerged from training processes involving incarcerated people and healthcare teams, with the goal of reducing the barriers to medical care that exist within penitentiary units. The role is not clinical but one of accompaniment, information, and coordination: it guides those who don't know how to schedule an appointment, identifies urgent situations, and acts as a bridge between the population and the health services area.
At Unidad Penal N°15 in Batán, this role was formally launched in 2021, preceded by meetings organized by Liberté and the facility's health section. It is a practice that recognizes peer experience and trust as valid resources for improving health conditions in contexts of confinement.