Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
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IESS says Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Hospital allocated $435,083 for medications and supplies, including antibiotics, neonatal respiratory supplies, suction hoses and Tocilizumab. For expats using IESS or watching the public system, this is a concrete supply update with named purchases and dollar amounts.
A legal reform moving through Ecuador's Assembly aims to clear about 12,000 abandoned containers from the country's ports. The backlog includes roughly $450 million in retained cargo and average wait times of 365 days.
El Universo reports Solca Quito received more than 18,000 oncology medicines from Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health. The donation includes 17 essential medicine types and is expected to benefit 130 patients in the first half of 2026.
Primicias reports President Daniel Noboa ordered Ecuador's security tariff on Colombian imports eliminated from June 1. The tariff had reached 100% during the trade dispute and affected products including medicines, cosmetics and plastic and rubber manufactures.
El Comercio reports that President Daniel Noboa announced Ecuador will begin acquiring medicines from India, with negotiations already underway and an expected arrival in about three weeks. The amount, medicine types and first hospitals have not yet been detailed.
La Hora reports complaints from users who say they could not access surgery at the Ambato IESS Hospital, while the institution says it has two operating rooms active 24 hours a day and performed 438 procedures since April 2026.
President Daniel Noboa said the Quito Metro expansion will start during this period, while El Comercio reports the La Ofelia extension remains in definitive studies and still needs total-financing authorization from the national government.
El Comercio reports that dialysis patients are traveling to other cities or paying out of pocket because the MSP owes two years of services to private dialysis centers. The report says many patients do not reach the 12 monthly sessions they require.
Monthly inflation reached 0.53% in April 2026, driven mainly by transport costs, with annual inflation at 2.6%. Meanwhile Ecuador's tariff on Colombian goods escalated to 100% on May 1. What it means for anyone living here on a fixed or foreign income.
After months of escalating tariffs, Ecuador will reduce duties on Colombian imports from 100% to 75%. Cosmetics, medicines, plastics, and automotive parts are the primary categories affected.
ARCSA reviewed 2,100+ registered products and reclassified 30 active ingredients as prescription-only. If you're used to buying certain medicines at the farmacia without a receta, some of those purchases just got harder.
ARCSA reviewed over 2,100 products and removed 30 active ingredients from over-the-counter status, including triclosán and mercury chrome. Some cold medications now require prescriptions. Here's the new reality at your local farmacia.
