Paraguay: 62% of essential medicines available, health ministry reports

Paraguay's Ministry of Public Health announced that 62.1% of vital and essential medicines are currently available within the national health system. This figure, as of August 21, 2026, reflects physical stock, ongoing purchase orders, and existing supplier contracts.

The ministry's monitoring covers 285 priority medications. Of these, 177 items (62.1%) have guaranteed coverage through current stock and replenishment processes. An additional 74 products (26%) have limited availability but have prioritized restocking plans.

However, 34 essential medications (11.9%) are temporarily out of stock. To address this shortage, the health ministry is evaluating tender bids and has two purchase calls with offer openings scheduled for August 25. These acquisitions are expected to boost overall availability to 75% and reduce the number of unavailable items to just 11.

In a move to enhance transparency, the Ministry of Health is also launching a public web platform. This portal will enable patients and users to check the real-time availability of medicines and supplies across the public health network, using the same data managed by the institution.