Peru: distraught, health workers start 48-hour strike

Nursing staff at the bedside of children infected with Covid-19, at Felipe Urriola hospital in Iquitos, Peru, July 8, 2020. Cesar Von Bancels / AFP

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As Peru faces an ever-increasing number of cases of the coronavirus which threatens to saturate the health system, healthcare workers began a 48-hour national strike on Wednesday August 26. They are responding to the appeal of the Peruvian Medical Federation, which for months has been denouncing deplorable working conditions and demanding concrete measures from the government.

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With our correspondent in Lima, Wyloën Munhoz-Boillot

More beds, masks, oxygen, drugs: the list of demands from striking nursing staff has been the same for months. The Peruvian Medical Federation had already planned a strike in mid-July. But the latter had been canceled after promises made by the Peruvian government, as the president of the Federation, Godofredo Talavera explains. “  The Prime Minister and the Minister of Health at the time made a commitment to respond to our main demands, including the increase in the health budget. But they laughed at us,  ”he says.

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One of the lowest health budgets in Latin America

At the end of July, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced a health budget for 2021 which he himself described as historic: 20 billion soles, or 5 billion euros. Powder in the eyes, according to Godofredo Talavera. “  We are going to move to 2.5% of the GDP allocated to health, but that's nothing. We are demanding a budget of at least 5% of GDP,  ”he continues.

In fact, the Peruvian health budget remains one of the lowest in Latin America, and is well below the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Result: at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, it is the medical staff, on the front line, who are suffering the consequences. There is no longer any protective equipment, the interns are not paid and the bonus promised to the medical staff has not been paid  ", deplores Godofredo Talavera.

Through this strike movement, health professionals hope to provoke a surge from health authorities, while Peru is on the way to becoming the country in the world with the highest death rate linked to the coronavirus. Monday, August 23, the barrier of 600,000 contaminations was crossed. More than 27,800 people have died of Covid-19 in Peru.

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  • Peru
  • Health and medicine
  • Coronavirus

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