The United States, through its Office of Defense Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance program, donated four field hospitals and 24 ventilators to the Paraguayan National Emergency Secretariat (SEN, in Spanish), the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay announced February 10, 2022.
The contribution, valued at $2.7 million, will strengthen the national public health system and increase relief capabilities of the Paraguayan Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (MSPBS, in Spanish) and the Paraguayan Armed Forces.
“These hospitals will help to cope with the increase in patients with different conditions, including COVID-19, and will remain available to handle any medical emergencies that Paraguay may face,” U.S. Army Colonel Lance Awbrey, senior Defense official at the U.S. Embassy in Asunción, said.
The health centers have 40 beds for hospitalization, as well as hygiene, administrative, and patient triage areas, the SEN told the press. The hospitals are equipped with air conditioning, power generators, individual showers, and insulated ceilings and walls.
“The Logistics capabilities for transportation, assembly, field operations, and disassembly are fast, given the structural conditions that allow easy transportation by any means [air, land, and/or water],” the SEN added.
The first hospital is already in service at the Itaugua National Hospital, in Central department, the MSPBS said. The other three hospitals will be stationed in medical facilities that require more beds to meet patient demand.
“This donation is part of many other donations that the U.S. government has made to this State Secretariat, not only of equipment, but also training,” SEN Minister Joaquín Roa Burgos, said.
The donation included training sessions for personnel of the Secretariat, the Ministry of Health, and the Armed Forces to set up and activate the hospitals. According to MSPBS, commissioning time is 24 hours or less, from their arrival at the site of operations.
