Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social

Paraguayan specialist doctors withdrew their resignations and suspended participation in the September 21 and 22 strike after reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Health, which provides for negotiations on differentiated salaries for high-complexity fields, still subject to budgetary and legislative approval.

Paraguay’s draft 2027 National General Budget provides $76.5 million to subsidize public transport in Asunción and the metropolitan area, with coverage linked to public borrowing and, according to local reports, bond issuance. Lawmakers question the increase amid continuing service problems.

Documents presented by Óscar Tuma are offered as evidence that Basilio Núñez graduated in medicine from the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste in Argentina and worked as a medical surgeon in the public health system, but they do not demonstrate his alleged specialization in neurosurgery, which Aníbal Filártiga questioned.

Paraguay’s Congress has begun reviewing the 2027 General National Budget, estimated at G. 166.3 trillion and listing health care among its priorities, while the Senate prepares requests for information from the Central Bank about Ueno Bank and lawmakers negotiate doctors’ salary demands.

The Paraguayan government has proposed a salary adjustment and a medical pay scale based on training, specialization, seniority and responsibilities after medical representatives announced 631 resignation requests; the Health Ministry counts 270 formalized cases.

The Paraguayan government has proposed, starting in July 2027, bringing the salaries of contracted doctors in line with those of appointed doctors and paying for holidays worked, but Sinamed considers the offer insufficient and will decide on a new strike at an assembly.

The Older Adults Program will cost US$564 million in 2027, add 30,000 people and reach 406,000 beneficiaries, while about 100,000 will complete enrollment in 2028; Economy and Finance Minister Óscar Lovera also reported that an additional US$200 million is already included in the 2026 budget for medicines and supplies, rejected a general 76% raise for 12,000 doctors for lack of financing, and Rossana González acknowledged much of the data about her two positions with the Ministry of Health, dual employment with the Social Security Institute (IPS), monthly income of about G. 25 million, and alleged care for 37 patients in 2025 and none in 2026, saying she works at San Pablo Hospital, which has 1,200 vulnerable employees.

Paraguay’s 2027 General National Budget bill provides for spending of G. 166.322 trillion, an 11.2% increase and a deficit of up to 3.9% of GDP, but excludes the pay increase demanded by striking doctors, while five babies were transferred after a flea infestation in a neonatal unit in Ciudad del Este.

At least 197 specialist doctors formally submitted resignations in Paraguay after a five-day strike, as patients report shortages of medicines and supplies; the government attributes rejection of a across-the-board raise to fiscal constraints and is considering measures to fill vacancies, regularize 2,390 contracted workers and include US$760 million for medicines and supplies in the 2027 budget proposal, which has not yet been approved. University lecturers are also threatening mobilization, while Eduardo Nakayama proposes eliminating state-paid private insurance to direct US$100 million to US$120 million annually to public health without shifting pressure to the Social Security Institute (IPS), which is facing its own crisis.

Decree No. 6,692, signed by Santiago Peña, authorizes the transfer for consideration of a military property spanning more than 9 hectares at Km 8 in Ciudad del Este to the Ministry of Health to build the Gran Hospital de Alto Paraná. Itaipú will fully finance the physical works, initially planned to have 204 inpatient beds and 56 intensive care beds.

Amid a nationwide doctors’ strike, Paraguay is debating higher taxes on tobacco and other levies to fund health care, while economists and business leaders argue for better public management, less waste and policy predictability to avoid harming investment.

The Ministry of Health assigned 44 ambulances to Rally Paraguay, prompting criticism over the temporary concentration of resources and raising questions about emergency capacity, public-resource allocation and regional event planning.

Paraguay’s national doctors’ strike suspended nonurgent consultations and surgeries for a second day as the National Medical Union demands pay increases, job stability and better conditions, while the government and Congress seek negotiations amid budget constraints.

Two lawyers were sentenced to two years in prison with conditional suspension after admitting, in an abbreviated procedure, their participation in the procedural fraud scheme known as the Recoleta promissory note mafia.

A bill redirecting 500 billion guaranis from spending considered superfluous to purchase medicines is stalled in the Paraguayan Senate due to lack of opinion from the Finance Committee, which did not meet, revealing an internal division within the ruling party.

IPS began its restocking plan with the arrival of 124 medicines, which will reduce the shortage rate from 28% to 19% in the next 15 days and is expected to cover demand for two months.

The Paraguayan Senate approved in committee a $286 million loan for an integration corridor, while opposition senators accused the Ministry of Public Works of corruption for alleged overpricing in tenders, leading to the summons of Minister Claudia Centurión to provide explanations.

An official study by Paraguay's Ministry of Health reveals that 24% of the population over 50 suffers from some form of visual impairment, affecting approximately 236,000 people, with cataracts being the leading cause of blindness.

Paraguay's Ministry of Health is preparing a large-scale operation with 500 professionals, 42 fixed posts, 44 ambulances, and five mobile clinics for the World Rally Championship in Itapúa in August 2026, centered on the region's General Hospital.

The crisis in Paraguay's public health system and social security institute IPS is forcing families to cover high out-of-pocket costs for medications and treatments, driving many into financial ruin.

The Finance Committee of the Paraguayan Senate halted a project that would redirect communication funds to healthcare and postponed for 15 days the analysis of a budget increase to pay off the sector's debts.

Paraguay's public health system has performed its first highly complex biventricular pacemaker implant at the National Institute of Cardiology, a historic milestone made possible by the hospital's modernization funded by Itaipu Binacional.

Patients with rare and chronic diseases in Paraguay have been without essential medications for eight months due to a lack of Budget Availability Certificates, and the Paraguayan Federation of Patients with Rare Diseases (FEPPER) accuses the government, including President Santiago Peña and Economy Minister Óscar Lovera, of failing to respond to requests, while current tenders cover only 70 of the more than 350 patients in need.

Luis Carlos Ortiz Godoy, a patient at the National Cancer Institute (Incan), obtained a constitutional injunction to receive the drug glofitamab, but the Ministry of Health has not complied with the court order for more than 60 days, according to his lawyer.