Ex-President Fujimori undergoes medical tests on weight loss

Imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori is undergoing medical exams to determine his weight loss, daily El Comercio reported.

Fujimori, 72, was admitted to Lima’s oncology hospital INEN to examine a precancerous growth on his tongue, on which he had surgery last year. Read more…

Ministries team up to launch projects for communities in voluntary isolation

Peru’s Culture and Health ministries are coordinating a joint campaign aimed at providing services to indigenous communities that are in voluntary isolation, state news agency Andina reported.

The ministries will invest $1.8 million on projects, such as vaccination campaigns, in Cuzco’s lower Urubamba region, Culture Minister Juan Ossio said. The funds are being provided by the Argentine oil company Pluspetrol. Read more…

Health Ministry announces red alert in Loreto to combat spread of dengue

Health Minister Oscar Ugarte, changing his initial assessment, announced a red alert in Peru’s north-eastern Loreto department due to the spread of dengue fever, CNR news service reported.

The alert came into effect on February 2 and is valid for 60 days, Ugarte said.

It will allow the department to improve its resources for health services by making necessary purchases and bringing in specialized health personnel.

Ugarte said the government has also declared a yellow alert in 14 other departments, including Lima. Read more…

Health Ministry reports spread of dengue fever, four cases in Lima

Peru’s Health Ministry has identified four cases of dengue in Lima, CNR news service reported.

The four people came down with dengue while in the jungle city of Iquitos, where Health Minister Oscar Ugarte estimates there are some 10,000 probable cases and 6,000 proven cases.  To date,  11 people have died in the Iquitos area.

In Lima, the four cases have been hospitalized in isolation, and authorities are working to prevent the spread of the infectious disease with health campaigns. Read more…

Health Ministry to send cholera specialists to assist in Haiti outbreak

Peru’s health ministry will send a team of medical officials to Haiti to help mitigate the spread of a cholera outbreak that has claimed hundreds of lives in the impoverished Caribbean nation, state news agency Andina reported.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) requested the support of Peruvian specialists who have experience treating cholera, Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said.

Peru is sending three epidemiologists, three environmental health specialists and three specialists in the treatment of cholera.

“Peru has a lot of experience because the same epidemic occurred in the country in 1991 and 1992,” Ugarte said. “Now they have called on use to provide support and be able to contain the cholera epidemic.” Read more…

Peru elected member of Pan American Health Organization’s executive committee

Peru has been elected a member of the executive committee of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), daily La Republica reported Health Minister Oscar Ugarte as saying.

Peru was elected to the PAHO’s executive committee for a three year term along with the United States and Granada. The countries replace Bolivia, Mexico and Surinam. The committee meets at least twice per year.

Representatives from Peru were also selected to participate in the coordination board for a program on research and training about tropical diseases, Ugarte said. Read more…

Peruvian health authorities send medical attention for jungle residents ill from contaminated food, water

Authorities in northern Peru’s Alto Amazonas province have sent a team of health professionals to provide medical attention for residents in the district of Balsapuerto where there have been reports of poisoning from consuming contaminated water and food.

The team will include doctors, nurses and biologists to investigate the cause of poisoning, the director of Alto Amazonas’ health network, Fernando Fernandez, told state news agency Andina. Read more…

Report finds 78 percent of indigenous children living in poverty

A report presented by UNICEF and the national statistics and technology institute, INEI, has found that in Peru 78 percent of indigenous children between the ages of three and 17  live in poverty, compared to 40 percent for children whose first language is Spanish, state news agency Andina reported.

“The inequality is greatest among ethnic groups in the jungle where almost half the children [49%] live in conditions of extreme poverty,” said Martin Benavides, the executive director of research center Grade, which wrote the report. Read more…

Peru declares emergency due to cold in 16 departments

Peru’s government has declared an emergency in 16 of the country’s 24 departments on Friday as a result of a cold wave, with an emphasis on areas located at least 3,000 meters above sea level, state news agency Andina reported.

Peru’s minister of Women, Nidia Vilchez, said the emergency was for Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cuzco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Junin, Moquegua, Pasco, Puno, Lima and Tacna as well as the three departments in Peru’s jungle region, Madre de Dios, Ucayali and Loreto. Read more…

Health minister aims to decrease maternal mortality rate by 25% in 2 years

Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said he expects Peru’s maternal mortality rate to decrease by 25% within 2 years, state news agency Andina reported.

Ugarte said the target to decrease maternal mortality will require improved quality of services and attention for patients.

“I am convinced that Peru can achieve the goal of reducing the maternal mortality [rate] by a quarter,” Ugarte said. “I don’t doubt that in a year or two at the maximum, we will be able to achieve this reduction.” Read more…

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