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Paraguayan Patients Protest Lack of Life-Saving Medication
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Health & Science

Paraguayan Patients Protest Lack of Life-Saving Medication

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Patients with pulmonary hypertension protested at the Ministry of Health in Asunción demanding essential medication.
  • They require treprostinil, a drug whose supply has been suspended, leaving patients desperate.
  • Protesters shared harrowing accounts of their dependence on the medication for basic functions like breathing and walking.

Asunción, Paraguay – Patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension and their families gathered at the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, pleading for the resumption of essential medication. The group is demanding the provision of treprostinil, a vital drug for managing their condition, which has recently been suspended. The situation has left patients in a desperate state, with many traveling long distances to voice their concerns.

I depend on the drug to breathe and walk. I have only a last bottle left, but it will run out in 15 to 22 days. A death in these conditions is very sad; we came in search of answers and are knocking on doors in all offices.

— María Liz FrancoA patient who traveled from Concepción explained her critical dependence on the suspended medication.

María Liz Franco, who traveled over 500 kilometers from Concepción, explained her critical reliance on the medication. "I depend on the drug to breathe and walk," she stated, revealing she has only a 15 to 22-day supply left. "A death in these conditions is very sad; we came in search of answers and are knocking on doors in all offices," she added, highlighting the urgency of their plight.

Rosana Vero, from Campo 9, spoke emotionally about her 53-year-old mother who is currently without the medication. "I came from the countryside to fight; the situation is very sad. Life in Paraguay is too difficult and to die for lack of medication. We are not animals, my mom is a person too... she doesn't deserve to just die like this," Vero asserted, her voice filled with anguish.

I came from the countryside to fight; the situation is very sad. Life in Paraguay is too difficult and to die for lack of medication. We are not animals, my mom is a person too... she doesn't deserve to just die like this.

— Rosana VeroA protester shared the emotional toll of her mother's lack of access to the vital drug.

Norma María Liz, from Quyquyhó, emphasized the medication's life-sustaining role. "It's our life," she said, imploring the health ministry to return the drug they were denied. "It's very difficult to breathe without this medication; this is our life. We were told we need it for life... it wasn't easy to accept this illness, but we are fighting for our families. Now they tell us there is no medication, it's very sad, our life is very difficult... they give us no solution, nothing. They don't care about our lives," she concluded, expressing deep frustration and despair.

It's our life. We were told we need it for life... it wasn't easy to accept this illness, but we are fighting for our families. Now they tell us there is no medication, it's very sad, our life is very difficult... they give us no solution, nothing. They don't care about our lives.

— Norma María LizA patient expressed deep frustration over the lack of medication and the perceived indifference of health authorities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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