By Plinio Averbach | Founder
2025 was a historic year for ONG Zoé. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, partners, volunteers, and supporters, we expanded access to quality healthcare for riverside and Indigenous communities in the Amazon and beyond. Our mission — caring for those who care for the forest — became even stronger through 12 expeditions and one continuous care program, reaching communities that face deep geographic, social, and structural barriers to healthcare.
With your support, ONG Zoé provided 10,003 healthcare services in 2025, more than doubling the 4,587 services delivered in 2024. This impact included 4,144 clinical consultations, 3,351 diagnostic exams, 338 surgeries, 357 endoscopies and colonoscopies, 759 other procedures, 281 donated eyeglasses, 758 oral hygiene kits, and 15 people trained. Behind every number is a person, a family, and a community that received care because donors believed this work was possible.
This year also marked major advances in clinical complexity and territorial reach. ONG Zoé carried out its largest expedition to Belterra, expanded ophthalmology services, strengthened mental health care for children, and reached new territories such as Alto Arapiuns and Mapuera. We also deepened our work with Indigenous peoples, including the Zo’é and WaiWai communities, always prioritizing trust, cultural respect, and long-term relationship-building.
Among the most meaningful milestones of 2025 was the continuation of surgical expeditions to the Zo’é Territory. These missions represented a historic step for Indigenous healthcare in Brazil, including the first neurosurgery performed in Indigenous territory, in a surgical center assembled in the forest. This achievement reflects not only medical excellence, but also the power of collaboration, preparation, and donor commitment to reaching people who are too often left outside traditional health systems.
Your generosity also helped strengthen ONG Zoé as an institution. In 2025, we formalized seven cooperation and partnership agreements, expanded our network of public-sector, hospital, university, civil society, and corporate partners, and closed the year with greater financial stability. We more than doubled our fundraising, ended the year with a surplus, and reinforced our commitment to transparency so that every contribution can be traced to the impact it creates.
To every donor: thank you. Nothing achieved in 2025 would have been possible without your trust. Each consultation, surgery, exam, donated pair of glasses, and child welcomed into care carries a part of your commitment to human dignity and to the communities that protect the forest. As we move into 2026, we do so with gratitude, responsibility, and the certainty that, together, we can continue bringing healthcare where it is most needed.
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