Central America
President Bukele’s government has transformed El Salvador’s integrated national health system
May 31 |
The National Integrated Health System (SIS) has been transformed during the administration of the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, through different actions that include modernization of infrastructure, equipment and digitalization of processes.
For decades, Salvadorans suffered from lack of care, hospitals and health units in poor condition and lack of suitable equipment for diagnosis and medical procedures, digitized care and modern technology.
Currently, modern, state-of-the-art equipment has been provided for X-rays, MRIs and cardiac interventions with a biplanar arc that is unique in the country and in the region.
“Assured connectivity. The Integrated Health System is changing the care we provide in hospitals, health units and in the territory, since it allows us to keep better control of the patient and give him/her the appropriate follow-up regardless of the facility where he/she goes to consult,” said the Minister of Health, Francisco Alabi, recently.
The issue of connectivity was raised by the Vice-Minister of Health Management and Development, Carlos Alvarenga, during his participation in the 76th World Health Assembly, held in Geneva, Switzerland.
“We have interconnected all health facilities, generated the electronic health record and other important elements of digital transformation that are the basis for transforming the country with a leap in quality,” said Alvarenga.
Similarly, in terms of infrastructure, the government of President Bukele built a walkway with all the conditions for the transfer of patients between the tower of the Benjamin Bloom National Children’s Hospital and the outpatient building of this medical center.
This has also been equipped with a biplanar arc angiograph for cardiac catheterization.
Likewise, after 30 years, the Zacamil National Hospital was intervened and equipped with technology and new areas, as well as artificial intelligence through Temi, a robot assistant.
On the other hand, another of the debts settled has been the inauguration of the Specialized Outpatient Care Center La Ceiba, of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS), which has a capacity to care for more than 1,100 patients per day.
Due to the security measures implemented by President Bukele, health services have also been brought closer to communities that for decades were dominated by gangs.
Similarly, the teaching sector will benefit from the construction of the first Magisterial Hospital of the Instituto Salvadoreño de Bienestar Magisterial (ISBM), for which more than $2.2 million was approved by the Legislative Assembly for the purchase of the land.
Central America
U.S. and Regional Allies Back Panama Amid Dispute With China
The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago issued a joint statement in support of Panama’s sovereignty, arguing that China’s recent actions represent an attempt to politicize maritime trade and undermine the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere.
“We are closely monitoring China’s selective economic pressure and recent actions affecting vessels flying the Panamanian flag,” the statement released Tuesday said. “Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system and, as such, must remain free from undue external pressure.”
The statement comes amid growing tensions surrounding the Panama Canal and the operation of key ports linked to global trade.
At the end of January, Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession that granted Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, the right to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals located on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Panama Canal.
The ruling followed mounting pressure from the United States to curb Chinese influence around the strategic waterway, through which roughly 5% of global maritime trade passes.
CK Hutchison, which managed the ports for nearly three decades, rejected the court’s decision and accused Panamanian authorities of illegally confiscating its assets. The company has launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama, seeking more than $2 billion in damages.
Following the court ruling, reports emerged of increased detentions and inspections of Panamanian-flagged vessels in China, actions widely viewed as retaliatory measures.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the joint statement as “completely unfounded and misleading,” accusing the United States of politicizing port operations and warning that Beijing would take steps to protect its interests in Panama.
Central America
International Project Tackles Gender Violence in Indigenous Communities in Panama
Efforts to combat machismo and gender-based violence in Panama’s indigenous communities are advancing through international cooperation projects, including an initiative presented this week that is evolving from women’s empowerment toward a new phase focused on educating husbands and sons.
The project, led by the organization HIAS with support from the Spanish Cooperation Agency, is being implemented in the Emberá-Wounaan indigenous territory in the Darién jungle region near the Colombian border.
Originally created to bring state services closer to remote communities, the initiative focused on access to healthcare — particularly sexual and reproductive health services — but later expanded to promote broader access to fundamental rights.
“The project emerged from the understanding that strengthening the rights of the population as a whole was essential to achieving fairer, more cohesive and inclusive societies capable of fighting poverty,” Itziar González, general coordinator of Spanish Cooperation in Panama, told EFE.
HIAS Country Director in Panama Oliver Bush explained that the initiative includes “a very strong component of empowerment for women and adolescent girls in the Emberá-Wounaan communities, aimed at recovering the historical worldview in which women have always played a fundamental role in decision-making within their communities.”
The program also includes prevention, mitigation and response mechanisms against gender-based violence, an area that will be reinforced during the project’s second phase.
“It will include a component focused on positive masculinities, where we will work with men, because men are an important factor in the prevention and mitigation of gender violence,” Bush said.
According to Bush, the initiative seeks not only to eliminate stigmas and forms of everyday sexism that are often socially and culturally ingrained in men, but also to encourage men to recognize themselves as sensitive human beings capable of contributing to healthier and more equal communities.
Central America
Guatemala’s President to Hold Private Interviews for Attorney General Candidates
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León announced that he will privately interview the six candidates for attorney general this week, breaking with the public format used by former President Alejandro Giammattei.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Arévalo said the interviews would not be open to the public because he intends to question candidates about their plans to recover the Attorney General’s Office from what he described as “political-criminal networks.”
Under Guatemalan law, the president is responsible for appointing the country’s attorney general.
The position has been held since 2018 by Consuelo Porras, whose term is set to expire on May 16 after two consecutive terms marked by local and international allegations of corruption.
Arévalo is expected to select the new attorney general later this week from a shortlist recently submitted by a nomination commission.
The Guatemalan president has repeatedly criticized the Public Prosecutor’s Office, claiming it has been compromised by corrupt political interests.
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