Paraguay is living a deep change in its Public Health System to turn it into an excellent and of highest quality service.
As a matter of fact, this is a state priority issue, today, and its policy of transformation must not change, even if there will be future government changes. One of the objectives of this change is to achieve a substantial improvement in access and in cover of health services to get an universal cover, that is not always available to anyone in rural areas of the country, despite of the current modernity of urban structures.
Public Health is not only a cost, but also an investment. The health of population is non only a result of economic development, but it is also a response of it. Healthy people are more helpful to community and economy itself. They are also more productive and resourceful, they are more easily educable and, lastly, all this impacts strongly on poverty reduction.
For this reason, while European countries are cutting Health Care at the expense of their older people, are extending waiting times, are making people pay their drugs etc, Paraguay is taking advantage of the solid and steady growth of its GDP to invest it in Health Care.
A practical example: World Health Organisation (WHO) has just officially recognized Paraguay as a country free from malaria. After seven years without a single case of “indigenous malaria”, the Organization has certified that this disease is part of the past and that if malaria should reappear, Paraguay could be able to face an epidemic efficiently. The last country that obtained this result was Cuba in 1973, that is 45 years ago. From now on malaria is not endemic in neither of the two countries and in both cases, even if with very different economic policies, it is due to a substantial investment in the Health Sector.
The last case was in 2011 and later Paraguay undertook the ambitious project to strengthen its results and prevent other possible cases of malaria from returning. And, especially, against the weakest populations living in the inland areas of the country (the inhabitants of Canindeyú, Alto Paraná and Caaguazú Departments). Project activities included the enhancement of detection and control protocols of the single cases and the inclusion of the community in an educational project which favoured prevention, identification of symptoms and diagnosis. This project demonstrated it was extremely effective to stop the spread of the disease and to be without confirmed cases in the last seven years. But in 2016 the Ministry of Health launched a triennial initiative for Healthcare Professional of all 18 regions of the country to update their knowledge about this disease.
Undoubtedly, it certain that the aim of this transformation and related enlargement of the Paraguayan Health System is to greatly increase Healthcare Professional and this means excellent job opportunities for doctors, professors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, ambulance crews and many others….
In the previous decades, when health policy was not a priority for the various administrations, already existed conditions for a good service like, for example a right percentage between professionals and the rest of the population. In the past, the failure of this relationship was that these professionals were concentrated in Asunción and in its surrounding areas and not in the rest of the country. This is quite one of the lacks to which the recent changes want to remedy, but in principle they are not a big problem, if you are going to live in Asunción.
On the contrary, the Private System has yet more resources both in technology and in the ability to attract talents. At most 5% of the population addresses to Private System and, in the case of European immigrates, it is a good choice to take out a Private Health Insurance, that does not force you to give up on Public Health System and the cost of which, if compared with European health prescription charges, is really insignificant.
It is certain that when taking out a health insurance in Paraguay, we strongly suggest you to rely on Living In Paraguay, the only European Consultancy Company which can support you at 360°. As a matter of fact, this company will accompany you all along the necessary route to move to this wonderful country and it will also help you to find the Health Insurance best suited to you.
