02/19/2021 21:39
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 02/19/2021 9:59 PM
Ginés González García confirmed this Friday his resignation as head of the Ministry of Health and, through a public letter, sought to hold his secretaries responsible for the "
VIP Vaccination
" scandal
, with which the coronavirus medication was applied to referents of the ruling party.
The outgoing minister spoke after President Alberto Fernández asked him to resign and sought to detach himself from the scandalous events.
He said it was an "involuntary confusion" from his "private secretary" and spoke of a "misunderstanding".
As indicated in the Casa Rosada, the President "is very hurt by this issue, because of what happened because he highly values the work that Ginés did in the pandemic since it started."
"Ginés assumed responsibility for what happened and another stage of the ministry continues, which will give continuity to everything he had been doing," they added in reference to the new head of the portfolio, Carla Vizzotti.
The text was known shortly after González García left the facilities of the health portfolio.
Full text
Mr. President of the Argentine Nation
Hereby, and in response to your express request, I present my resignation from the position of Minister of Health.
I take this opportunity to reconfirm my position on the reason that transpired, insofar as the vaccinated people belong to the groups included within the target population of the current campaign, and the
involuntary confusion of my private secretariat
in the summons to vaccinated people in this Ministry happened while I was in the province of Entre Ríos.
I take responsibility for the mistake anyway.
I would sincerely regret that such a misunderstanding could detract from an administration that gave a strong impulse to the reconstruction of the health system, which is recovering programs dismantled by the previous administration, such as the National Immunization Program that allowed the worst measles outbreak in our history to be interrupted; that it restored the functioning of the Federal Health Council as the governing body of the System; and that it revalued institutes that were fundamental in the face of the pandemic, such as ANMAT and ANLIS.
Exit of Ginés González García from the Ministry of Health photo Enrique García Medina
I must admit that this recovery could be achieved thanks to the cancellation of the huge debts left unpaid by the previous government, which were equivalent to more than three months of the Ministry's annual budget; to the doubling in real terms of the budget allocated to health and to an increase in transfers to the provinces, which reached a value six times higher compared to 2009.
Also this brief but intense administration strengthened the areas, programs and actions related to gender and diversity, sexual and reproductive health, non-communicable diseases and mental health. In addition, health workers were prioritized and protected through economic incentives and the creation of programs such as the "National Citizen Plan for Health Workers" and the National Nursing Plan 20-2024 ". Likewise, The IMPULSA program was launched for the application of digital health tools that improve equity through federal articulation and the integration of health systems.
Regarding the pandemic, the rapid response of the Ministry could be given thanks to an unprecedented collaboration with the provincial and municipal governments, even those whose authorities belong to different political parties. In addition, from the first moment the National State provided society without delay all the information it had on the pandemic.
The Ministry of Health designed and carried out different types of actions to respond to the pandemic, including the "National Strategic Plan for COVID-19"; the preparation and approval of recommendations and protocols; the launch of the Detectar program in the AMBA and then the "Federal Detectar" in the rest of the provinces; the purchase and distribution to the jurisdictions of medical equipment, drugs, personal protective equipment and critical diagnostic supplies; continuous technical support and permanent communication with provincial governments and social works; strengthening the private sector and social security through subsidies, loan of respirators, and coordinated resource management; and the approval of the "Strategic Plan for vaccination against COVID-19" to immunize 100 of the target population in a phased manner, according to the availability of vaccines and risk prioritization. I hope that the events that transpired today will serve to fully comply with the criteria established in the Vaccination Plan agreed with all the governors.
The National Administration of Laboratories and Institutes of Health Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán and the network of laboratories were strengthened. The Ministry of Health purchased a total of 4,136 respirators, which allowed the incorporation of 4,026 beds in intensive care units for adults, producing an extraordinary increase of 47%. This also generated a strong increase in equity because in addition to prioritizing the provinces with fewer resources, the participation of the public sector in total adult ICU beds went from 28 to 40%. Today we can proudly say that the access and quality of care for patients with COVID-19 was equal throughout the country; the economic condition was not an obstacle for any Argentine or Argentine.
These and other actions were part of a comprehensive plan that sought to add resources and articulate them according to the epidemiological situation of the most compromised areas, without putting others at risk, or reducing their response capacity.
Finally, the Ministry of Health organized wide and plural debates with scientific societies, universities and civil society organizations, not only to agree on a federal policy in the face of the pandemic, but also to promote the sanction of the law on access to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy and post-abortion care, and the law of a thousand days.
I take the opportunity to continue expressing my gratitude to the vast majority of the Argentine people for their commitment and solidarity in these and other policies that served to rebuild a health system with much greater equity, access and quality than we had when assuming these responsibilities.
Finally, I agree with you in the words that I express today when presenting the Economic and Social Council: hatred between sectors has left us a deeply unjust, deeply unequal society. For my part, I did everything possible to reestablish the dialogue. Know that from now on I will continue to find myself on the same path, looking to the future and seeking the unity of Argentine women and men to build a more free, just and sovereign country.