CAF loan to Paraguay approved to address health contingencies

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed the bill approving a US$150 million loan from the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) to tackle the health emergency caused by the pandemic, which has killed over 16,000 people in the country.

Government legislator Tadeo Rojas, president of the Budget Committee, said that the amount will be used for the maintenance of the staff hired to reinforce the public health system, which he estimated at 12,500 professionals, as well as to pay the private health sector for services rendered to the Ministry of Health in regular and intensive care beds, when the peak of the pandemic exceeded public hospitals’ capacity.

The approval of the loan signed last August was discussed the day before by Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health officials with the members of the Budget Committee.

On that day, private health sector representatives had urged the government to pay the US$43 million debt incurred for the treatment of Covid-19 patients referred from public hospitals.

Spokespersons for the Paraguayan Association of Clinics and Hospitals explained to the media that the 18 facilities comprising the network treated 5,700 patients based on the agreement signed in September 2020, and warned that they would not be in a position to address a potential new wave unless the payment were made.

The Ministry of Health is also concerned about this eventuality, although the South American country has been reporting a considerable decrease in the number of cases and deaths for the past 13 weeks.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Health recorded 4 deaths and 30 cases, out of a total of 2,053 samples, thereby raising to 16,136 the number of deaths since the pandemic was detected in the 7 million-strong country.