The new government’s investment in health care infrastructure will begin with a 10-billion-peso (US $537.5-million) investment in repairs to more than 50 hospitals left unfinished by previous administrations.

Located in the poorest regions of the country, the hospitals will be managed by the Health Secretariat and IMSS, the Mexican Social Security Institute.

“Millions of pesos were spent building these hospitals that were never finished,” Andrés Manuel López Obrador said outside his transition headquarters in Mexico City.

Once up and running, the facilities will make preventive medical care a priority and will be fully supplied with medications.

“Health care policies are going to change, there’s going to be good health care now,” said the president-elect.

“All of this will be part of of the state welfare policy . . . there are countries in Europe in which the right to health is guaranteed,” he remarked.

López Obrador also addressed corruption in the health sector, explaining that putting a stop to irregularities in the purchase of medications could “release a lot of funds.”

Part of his plan to thwart corrupt practices is to centralize the purchase of medications. The process will be overseen by citizen observers and a United Nations transparency agency.

“That’s why I am confident that we will make ends meet with our budget,” he said.

Source: Crónica (sp)