Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
Results for “public health”Clear
At least 460 hospitals and health centers are located in Ecuador parishes under yellow alert for El Nino. Most are small health centers, and the risk list is concentrated heavily in Manabi and Guayas.
Ecuador’s Jóvenes en Acción program is expanding from 80,000 to 150,000 beneficiaries. Registration opened June 16 for vulnerable young adults ages 18 to 29, with selected participants receiving three $400 transfers over three months after completing assigned activities.
Ecuador added 10 substances to its controlled list after warnings about synthetic-drug risks and abuse potential. The change also comes with a plan to create 24 provincial committees to coordinate drug policy in the territories.
Ecuador launched a national policy for 2026-2035 to reduce adolescent pregnancy, keep girls in school and coordinate health, education and social services. The country records more than 32,200 births each year among girls and adolescents ages 10-19.
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.
El Universo reports Ecuador's Health Ministry will run a national measles vaccination campaign on May 30 and 31 in all 24 provinces. Brigades will operate in high-traffic places including markets, bus terminals, airports, plazas, malls and outside schools.
Primicias reports Ecuador recorded 10,562 tuberculosis cases in 2025 and 676 deaths nationwide. The report says prisons accounted for 2,576 cases, highlighting a public-health problem concentrated inside the prison system.
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.
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.
Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health says 25% of all medical visits to the public health system in January 2026 were caused by traffic accidents. In 2025, Ecuador recorded 20,346 traffic accidents, 17,932 people injured, and 2,354 killed. It's not a small problem.
At 4:31 AM on Sunday, April 12, a bus and a light vehicle collided roughly one kilometer from the Olmedo toll plaza on the Via a la Costa in Santa Elena province. The crash killed four people and injured nine. Cause is under investigation.
