Today we started to take a look within the public sector within the heath care system of Argentina. We started the day with a long boat ride to through the Tigre Delta, were we took a tour of a local hospital. The hospital is very small and the population in Tigre rely on boat and water transportation almost fully. As we were riding the boat to the hospital, we saw a group of kids waiting at a boat dock to get picked up for school. They were no older than 10 years old as well. This hospital is the only healthcare clinic/provider in a 200 km radius for that entire population, and only one boat ambulance. A couple years ago the clinic suffered from a bad storm which has so far terminated their access to internet connection making it extremely difficult to be efficient.

After the boat ride back from the clinic, we stopped at the pier and had lunch and walked around a little bit until the next van ride to a new hospital in San Isidro. This hospital is public and funded by the population taxes. In some cases, external residents from other areas outside of San Isidro will often get denied access to simple healthcare because, there are exemptions for emergencies. There, we had a presentation about the disconnection between primary care facilities and hospitals in the public sector. Recently with economic changes, the need for primary care within the public sector has risen. Primary care is not as efficient because of how many people use it because of how cheap it is relative to public healthcare. With this overcrowding it becomes hard to give care to everyone who needs in emergencies.

Today gave us a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by Argentina’s public healthcare system. Seeing the isolated clinic in the Tigre Delta showed how limited access and transportation affect the local population. The hospital in San Isidro highlighted the strain on public facilities and the growing demand for affordable care. It became clear how the lack of connection between primary care and hospitals creates issues, especially during emergencies. Overall, the day showed us how economic and geographic factors impact healthcare access across the country.

This dog visits the clinic in Tigre– as he lives in a neighboring house.