Bolivia Builds New Medical Centers to Battle Cancer
May 31, 2017 (Telesur English)
South American nation to allocate $1 billion dollars for health facilities.
Bolivia is investing more than US$150 million in the fight against cancer.
Three nuclear medical centers are being built by the government for research into finding cures for diseases.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Bolivia's President Evo Morales said the facilities will be located in the cities of El Alto, La Paz and Santa Cruz.
In addition to advancing global efforts to find cures for cancer, Morales said patients will no longer have to travel to Chile, Brazil, the United States or Europe for treatment.
The President also promised to allocate more than one billion dollars to build and equip health facilities throughout the country.
Bolivia's ‘My Health’ system already provides free care to nearly 8 million people.
Morales launched the program in June 2013. Treatment is provided free of charge to residents in some of the poorest communities.
The main beneficiaries are patients on low incomes who the doctor or get prescriptions. The country is progressing towards adopting a universal health care system.
Source: teleSUR English
Cuba and Kenya sign medical cooperation agreement
May 24, 2017 (Prensa Latina)
Cuban health authorities announced May 24, the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the island and Kenya, which seeks to establish medical cooperation in the African nation by the end of this year.
According to a press release, the two nations signed the document at the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva, as part of Cuban Public Health Minister Dr. Roberto Morales’ work agenda during the WHO’s 70th World Assembly taking place through May 31.
The Cuban official also held meetings with his counterparts from India and Mauritania, as well as with the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Carissa Etienne, during which they discussed issues such as health collaboration, human resource training and Cuban medical services.
Also taking place May 24 was the 10th Meeting of Health Ministers from the Non-Aligned Movement, led by the bloc’s President pro-tempore Venezuela.
Speaking during the event, Dr. Roberto Morales highlighted the importance of global health cooperation toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, to which all members states should be committed, he noted.
The Cuban official also emphasized how the island’s human resource training has contributed to strengthening health systems in various countries, noting that 34,216 sector professionals from 135 nations have graduated from Cuba since 1959.
He also reiterated the island’s support for Venezuela as President pro tempore of the Non-aligned Movement, as well as its solidarity with the nation’s government and people; suffering both domestic and foreign aggression.
Source: Prensa Latina
Ecuadorian Government Invested $13.9 Billion in Higher Education
May 28, 2017 (Telesur English)
According to Ecuador’s Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT), René Ramírez, the government spent $207 million on higher education last year.
The allocation of funds were broken down as follows: $153 million to scholarships, $13 million to technical education, $6 million to the Prometheus Project, $5.6 million to the excellence project, $18.4 million to admission and accreditation system, $6 million for innovation projects and $3 million to a contingency plan.
Over the past decade, the government has spent a total of $13.9 billion on higher learning – two percent of the country's GDP – making Ecuador the country that has invested the most in this area.
Ramírez stated that as a result of the investment, enrollment increased from 28 to 41 percent between 2006 and 2016. He also added that the number of students who continued their studies rose to 87 percent from 48 percent over a four-year period; 9 out of 10 students who started their studies in 2015 continued in 2016. There was an increase of 71 percent in SENESCYT registration, from 75,879 to 129,537. "We have made progress and must continue to move forward," said Ramírez.
Regarding scholarships, the government had put aside $586 million from 2007 to 2017. So far, there are 4,818 returned scholarship recipients, of whom 98 percent are currently employed – 27 percent in the health sector, 30 percent in education, 23 percent in private sector and 7 percent in the central government.
The number of teachers with fourth-level qualifications rose from 29 percent in 2008 to 80 percent in 2016 with 60 percent of teachers working full time in universities and polytechnic schools throughout the country. Salaries jumped from $1,281 to range from a minimum of $ 2,967 to $6,222, which has positively impacted the quality of educational institutions.
Ramírez said that the country had recovered its culture of excellence and quality within the university system, "to have gone from about 30 percent of teachers from level 4 to more than 80%, to be a country that multiplies by 6 Its scientific production, being the country that grows the most in publications in indexed journals and accounts for quality, "he said.
The number of students who have entered higher education because of new policies that benefit people with disabilities or those who belong to socially excluded groups increased significantly, from 528 in 2014 to 24,241 in 2016. The number of students of indigenous descent also rose from 7,774 in 2012 to 44,212 in 2016.
In addition, 11 universities were extended and 22 new careers created. "It is the challenge of the university system to have high standards in the methods of passing on knowledge, to generate knowledge through scientific research relevant to social transformation and to enhance individual and territorial capacities," the secretary said.
Source: teleSUR English with edits
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