IPS President Downplays Medication Shortages Amidst Patient Outcry

Isaías Fretes, president of Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS), has minimized protests over a chronic shortage of medications, claiming the deficit has fallen to 19%. However, insured individuals are pushing back, asserting that pharmacies are still empty and the system is in disarray.

Fretes, speaking after a meeting with Congress President Basilio Núñez, reacted with visible annoyance to questions about the medication shortage. He urged journalists not to create a perception of crisis and presented statistics that sharply contrast with the experiences of those relying on the IPS. He stated that the institute began with a 63% absence of medicines and reduced it to 19% in three months without additional funding, attributing the improvement to combating corruption and eliminating unnecessary tenders.

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Don't install that. We started with 63% absence of medicines and, in three months, we managed to lower it to 19%, without money. We did it by closing corrupt mouths and dismantling unnecessary tenders.

This official narrative clashes directly with the daily reality faced by IPS contributors. Patients report circulating through various clinics and consistently receiving the same response: "Not in stock." For retirees and workers who make mandatory monthly contributions, bureaucratic excuses and claims of administrative efficiency do not fill their prescriptions.

Norma Caballero, an insured individual, encapsulated the widespread frustration with a statement that undermines any triumphant discourse: "How can it not be installed [as a crisis], Mr. President? There is nothing, it is very sad." Her words highlight the life-or-death stakes for patients needing vital medications, a reality that Fretes's optimistic percentages fail to address.

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There is nothing, it is very sad.