“We are the country with the highest mortality rate from COVID-19 in the first and second waves, and that must have woken us up. We had to transform our system.” says Dr. César Portella, president of the Public Health Commission of the Medical College of Peru (CMP).
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Through the analysis of information from the Single National Repository of Health Information (Reunis), the National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Disease Control (CDC), Ministry of Health (Minsa), Peru Compras, Comptroller General of the Republic, among others, ECData has made an x-ray of three diseases: COVID-19, monkeypox and anemia, and the state of mental health in Peru.
In the case of the coronavirus, the figures reveal that, despite the fact that this disease has been less lethal this year thanks to vaccination, the inoculation goal was not met: 21.8% of adults still need to get the third dose. Likewise, 56% of children from 12 to 17 years of age and more than 66% of children from 5 to 11 years of age do not have a second dose. In September of this year, the Comptroller General of the Republic warned of vaccine losses of more than 11.2 million doses.
On the other hand, there are more than 3,600 cases of monkeypox. 96.5% correspond to men. Of these, 2,189 are between 30 and 59 years old. Although the average number of weekly cases fell from 67 in the middle of the year to 4 in December, the progress of vaccination is not known. To date, the Minsa has purchased 9,800 bottles, of which half had arrived. On Monday, November 7, the vaccination process began, but only for people living with HIV.
Regarding anemia, the figures show a 43% increase in cases from the beginning of the year to date. It went from 490,000 cases in January to 700,000 in September. The affected regions went from 14 to 19 and the budget for improving care and treatment capabilities for people with anemia, and for the prevention of anemia and chronic malnutrition barely corresponds to 0.09% of the total budget for the sector.
Portella explains that when it comes to anemia, children from newborn to three years of age have a high rate in the country. “It is in regions like Huancavelica, Puno, Ucayali and Cusco where we find the largest number of children with anemia and this will hinder their growth and development. Anemia delays brain development in children and the impact is lifelong. It has not been possible to control anemia in Peru”, warns.
Finally, although investment in mental health increased in 2022, it does not even represent 2% of the sector’s budget. In addition, attention has been reduced and there is a waiting list. Lima concentrates the largest number of patients attended, with 45%. In more than half of the regions there is not the minimum number of professionals to deal with cases.
“There is a reservoir of unresolved queries in all chronic diseases in the country,” says César Portella. As he explains, public strategies have not been the most appropriate and the figures show the impact of volatility and political mismanagement of the sector. “This is a consequence of the continuous changes of authorities within the Ministry of Health and the poor choice of officials”, he maintains.
Portella mentions that, at the moment, Peru has a high number of cases worldwide of monkeypox. Although this is not fatal, it is worrisome, especially for those who have comorbidities.
Along the same lines, Pecy Mayta-Tristán, research director at the Universidad Científica del Sur, maintains that we maintain a fragmented, underfunded and poorly responsive health system. “Here we see the mismanagement of Peru Libre in the sector, which caused the Minsa to lose leadership,” he highlights.
the forgotten strategy
One of the urgent measures proposed by the CMP is to raise the first level of care. At this level it is possible to solve 82% of all diseases. However, only 64% of establishments are working and 94% of them do not have adequate installed capacity.
“They do not have human resources, a good infrastructure, medicines, equipment to take auxiliary tests. This means that we are not having a good containment of the problems that will later reach the hospital in a serious way ”, warns Portella.
As explained by the CMP spokesman, this level must be addressed immediately to contain the large number of people with chronic problems. The number of people with resistant tuberculosis and multidrug has increased, since there has not been good control during the pandemic.
Similarly, the number of cancer patients also increased. “People with advanced cancer problems are arriving due to not having had adequate control during 2020, 2021 and even 2022. Diabetes is another problem that has increased. So, the strategies have failed and a new course has to be taken this coming year,” he emphasizes..
