The Social Security Institute (IPS) is facing a significant crisis with the departure of approximately 20 nurses per month, according to the president of the Paraguayan Nursing Association (APE), Mirna Gallardo. The main reason for these resignations is low salaries, which in many cases do not even reach the minimum wage. While the Ministry of Health pays around G. 4,000,000 for contracted nurses, the IPS offers only G. 2,800,000—an amount considered insufficient to cover the exhaustion and stress of the profession.
Gallardo stressed that the situation at the IPS is critical, where wages are extremely low and there are no clear policies to improve working conditions. She compared nurses' salaries to the "lavish wages" of Senate employees, highlighting the lack of prospects for healthcare professionals. The migration of nurses to countries like Germany and Italy has been a constant reality, with many already securing work and housing contracts before leaving Paraguay.
The exodus of nurses is not a new phenomenon. Fifteen to twenty years ago, around 500 nurses left the country to work in Europe. After the pandemic, between 2023 and 2024, migration surged again. Currently, an estimated 22 nurses leave the country monthly, many between the ages of 28 and 35. Some who returned to Paraguay eventually went back to Europe due to poor conditions and low wages at home.
In response, IPS healthcare workers have begun protests, including pot-banging demonstrations and rallies in front of the Ingavi Surgical Specialties Hospital in Fernando de la Mora. They are demanding salary adjustments and improved working conditions. A wage increase proposal was submitted to IPS president Isaías Fretes, but so far, there has been no response. If no solution is found, employees have not ruled out the possibility of a general strike.
The crisis at the IPS is not limited to nursing. Doctors have also resigned due to inadequate pay, workplace harassment, and excessive pressure to meet targets. According to union data from the IPS, around 4,300 nurses do not even receive the minimum wage, and more than 700 employees have already submitted resignations. The institution faces a salary emergency, worsened by shortages of medication for beneficiaries.