Santo Domingo.- The Senate of the Republic has approved on first reading a bill aimed at promoting health tourism across the country. Proposed by Senator Daniel Rivera, the initiative seeks to establish and develop medical centers that cater to foreign visitors in need of specialized healthcare. Article 11 of the bill designates health and wellness tourism as a national priority to position the country as a leading destination for medical services.

A resolution was also passed urging President Luis Abinader to implement a “Special Plan for Titling State Land in the Border Zone,” proposed by Senator Franklin Martín Romero Morillo, to prevent unauthorized foreign occupation of Dominican properties. Furthermore, Senator María Mercedes Ortiz Diloné’s initiative to recognize Dr. Richard Oliver Bidó Medina for his contributions to health sciences was approved.

An example of these cases is the people who, for different reasons, have to dedicate their lives to the care of others, eliminating the possibility of accessing academic training or acquiring a job.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) conducted a study that identified 90% of the people who care for others in the Dominican Republic as women, who do so without receiving any type of economic remuneration.

According to the report “Car” givers of the elderly, overburdened and underpaid” used in June 2024 by the IDB, if the Dominican State develops better public policies to improve caregivers’ conditions, this could increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by approximately 20%.

The World Bank identified this figure in 2020 in the report “Wom”n, Business and the Law,” which placed proportional labor inequality as the main challenge to achieving a higher GDP in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The accumulated data comprising the 27,000 consultations carried out in more than 25 Latin American countries, including the Dominican Republic, show that 58% of the unpaid caregivers are “self-initiated.”

30.3% had no other option because they said they were the “only person who could,” and 2.8% accepted the request of “others.”

Employment and professional development
Conversely, 48% of unpaid caregivers report that they had to stop working because of their caregiving responsibilities.

Other consequences also include a reduction in work hours (reported by 20% of respondents), accepting a less satisfying job that is more compatible with caregiving responsibilities (17%), and fewer opportunities to advance and receive promotions (12%).

Eighty-two percent of family caregivers and 38% of unpaid home caregivers in Latin countries have no formal training. Unpaid caregiving has other negative effects, including a shortage of time and strain on family and social relationships.

Forty-eight % report that they are unable to receive the medical care they need because of their caregiving responsibilities. In addition, one in three unpaid caregivers report problems in their relationships with friends, family, or partners due to their caregiving responsibilities.

International program
The objective of the study conducted by the IDB is to build a program that will allow it to make funds available to try to mitigate this weakness in the financial improvement of member countries, including the Dominican Republic.

Through the “IDB Cares” initiative, Latin states can expand care services and infrastructure to improve the lives of children, the elderly, and people with disabilities and create more jobs.

” Strategic investments in care services and infrastructure are fundamental for sustainable economic growth, productivity, and the generation of opportunities for all in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said IDB President Ilan Goldfajn, who launched the initiative at the IDB Meetings held in Chile. The Minister of Finance, José Vicente, also participates in these working tables, and he handed over the presidency of the Assembly coordinating the annual work of the countries that comprise the financial body.

Although the international banking entity has not defined the money available for this project, the directors informed that the Dominican Republic could access it through loans and technical cooperation actions, which would not represent a subscription to a debt.

Santo Domingo.- The National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor) and the Specialized Body for the Control of Fuels and Merchandise Trade (CECCOM) will launch a special operation during Easter 2025 to prevent the sale of alcoholic products under irregular conditions, aiming to reduce health risks to consumers.

Pro Consumidor Director Eddy Alcántara and CECCOM Director General Brigadier General César Miranda Mañón announced the nationwide initiative, which will be supported by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM) and the Ministry of Defense (MIDE). The operation will involve visits to businesses across the country to raise awareness and prevent the sale of adulterated alcoholic beverages during the Holy Week holiday.

The heads of both agencies emphasized the success of previous operations in reducing poisoning incidents from counterfeit alcohol and reaffirmed their commitment to protecting public health, supporting legal commerce, and combating tax evasion.

Santo Domingo—During epidemiological week 10, the Ministry of Public Health and the General Directorate of Epidemiology (Digepi) reported three new confirmed malaria cases, bringing the total accumulated since the beginning of this year, 2025, to 82.

22.8% of the reported cases correspond to citizens of Haitian nationality, so health authorities announced that they had renewed the focus on the active search for cases, especially in migrant communities and settlements of agricultural workers on farms.

“The intensification of community-based febrile case detection strategies is one of the key actions within the strategic efforts to achieve the goal of malaria elimination in the country,” the document highlights.

Of the 82 confirmed tests, 64 were in San Juan, 16 in Azua, and two in Santo Domingo.

As for the patients with probable symptoms, the authorities indicate that, after the report of 298 incidents, the total number of suspected cases increased to 4,587.

The bite of the Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria.

Dengue
Between March 2 and 8, 27 suspected cases of dengue were reported in the country, but no new confirmed cases were reported.

The cumulative number up to week 10 is 404 suspected cases and 31 confirmed cases.

Compared to the same period in 2024, there was a 93% decrease in suspected cases and a 95.24% decrease in confirmed cases, reflecting a significant reduction in the incidence of the disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Leptospirosis
Public Health and Digepi reported four suspected cases of leptospirosis, with no new laboratory confirmations.

The accumulated number of suspected cases is 103, and 16 have been confirmed cases. Of the cases, 33.98% are of Haitian nationality, and 66.02% are Dominican.

The Ministry of Health says it continues to reinforce key disease control strategies, such as rodent control and sanitation measures.

These include improving access to safe drinking water, reducing exposure to stagnant water, and promoting good hygiene practices. Animal vaccination campaigns are also being carried out, especially in areas where livestock can be a reservoir for Leptospira bacteria.

Cholera and diphtheria
Up to epidemiological week 10, no suspected cholera cases have been reported in the country, representing a 100% reduction compared to the same period last year, when 106 records were documented.

Regarding diphtheria, Public Health reported one probable case corresponding to a child between five and nine years of age who lived in the municipality of San Ignacio de Sabaneta.

So far this year, the accumulated number of cases is four.

Respiratory Viruses

Respiratory viruses continue to circulate in the country. (EXTERNAL SOURCE)
In Epidemiological Week 10, the circulation of influenza A (H1N1) pdm 09, influenza B Victoria, and parainfluenza viruses was detected. Throughout the year, authorities have observed the presence of a respiratory syncytial virus, metapneumovirus 1, 2, and 3, influenza A (H3N2), adenovirus, and Sars-CoV-2.

Public Health emphasizes the importance of preventive measures such as frequent hand washing, using masks with flu-like symptoms, avoiding self-medication, maintaining ventilated spaces, and going to the health center in case of fever or discomfort.

Maternal and infant deaths
In this new bulletin, two maternal deaths were reported, corresponding to women between 20 and 29 years of age, both of Dominican origin.

The accumulated figure up to week 10 is 33 deaths, which represents a decrease of 19 % to 2024 when 41 were reported.

With 22 new deaths, the total number of infant deaths rises to 337.

Of neonatal deaths, authorities reported 20 deaths, a total of 302 since the beginning of 2025.

Santo Domingo — The Administrative Minister of the Presidency, Andrés Bautista, assured this Friday that the recent resurgence of African swine fever (ASF) in some localities of the country is “under absolute control” and affirmed that the authorities have taken the necessary measures to avoid its propagation.

Bautista, an expert in agricultural matters, reported that the government had allocated billions of pesos to compensate pig farmers affected by the slaughter of their pigs due to the new wave of the disease.

“The General Directorate of Livestock goes and makes daily analyses of the farms,” said the official.

Bautista told the media that the resurgence has not reached large herds or organized farms, but it has affected small producers, whose farms face more difficulties in controlling the disease.

“In those foci, the pigs are eliminated,” he said. “That prevents contagion to other parts. There are also checkpoints in different parts of the country to avoid the transfer of pigs in a disorganized manner.”

Bautista added that, given the ASF rebound, the authorities had strengthened biosecurity measures for pig farmers to reinforce controls and prevent the further spread of the disease on farms.

The executive branch’s agricultural advisor, Erick Rivero, pointed out that the authorities carry out “permanently” between 15 and 20 surveys at the national level. At the same time, the central veterinary laboratory processes thousands of tests per week.

“We have been preserving the big companies where the genetics and the most important (pigs) are. And they have been giving support from the State to the small producers that are affected,” he said.

In the municipality of El Pino, Dajabón province, authorities confirmed the death of a large number of pigs. In Espaillat, at least 400 pigs were slaughtered due to ASF.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a disease caused by a highly contagious virus exclusively in pigs; it poses no health risk to humans, according to the Dirección General de Ganadería.

He explained that the ASF virus causes a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever in pigs and is easily transmitted directly between affected animals and by contact with contaminated objects such as clothing, footwear, vehicles, or equipment.

ASF often enters a farm by feeding pigs with leftover or uncooked food scraps and garbage from diseased pig by-products such as meats and sausages.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a disease caused by a highly contagious virus exclusively in pigs; it poses no health risk to humans, according to the Dirección General de Ganadería.

He explained that the ASF virus causes a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever in pigs and is easily transmitted directly between affected animals and by contact with contaminated objects such as clothing, footwear, vehicles, or equipment.

ASF often enters a farm by feeding pigs with leftover or uncooked food scraps and garbage from diseased pig by-products such as meats and sausages.

Although depression is primarily a state of anguish that can affect the ability of many Dominicans to perform daily tasks, it also appears as one of the probable causes of social violence and conflicts with the law. It is doubtful whether what the State is currently doing against the worst manifestations of this condition, which to varying degrees could advance to 20% to 30% of the population, is sufficient according to the assessments of at least one long-standing master of psychiatry in private practice.

Months ago, at a weekly meeting of the Corripio Communication Group, Dr. José Miguel Gómez, author of several works on psychiatry, which is his forte, was asked to summarize the reality of the mental health care system in the country. He said that there was a deficit “at all levels,” starting with a low public investment located at approximately 1% of the national budget of the health line when it should be between 2% and 3%.

Insufficient is reflected in the very low availability of beds in crisis intervention units, including provinces without these services, such as Independencia and Bahoruco. The contingency unit of the Padre Billini hospital had just been closed, while of the 40 beds promised to be available in the Luis Eduardo Aybar Health City, only 10 appeared. “There was also a deficit to attend to child and adolescent cases for which there were not 15 beds.” There has been no area to treat alcohol and drug abuse or for long-term psychosocial rehabilitation for mentally ill people who wander the streets and have no families, he added.

The government responded to these descriptions at some point by stating that mental health programs and services are being developed in the country that may be sufficient, at least for people to cope with depression. He mentioned a contact center called “Take care of your mental health” set up to offer free psychological support through line 809-200-1400. There was talk of a “National Mental Health Plan that seeks to reduce morbidity, disability, and mortality associated with mental disorders.

He considered it appropriate for the country’s reality that the Promesa/Cal entity provides medicines through a network of popular pharmacies. People with mental health conditions demand these medicines, and the Public Health Services Network has crisis intervention units in hospitals in Santo Domingo and other cities. However, professionals in that branch do not believe that it proportionally corresponds to the community’s needs. The Ministry of Health updates and develops specific protocols for managing adult depressive disorders.

The vulnerability of the Dominican population is seen as growing by more than one behavioral professional who, based on the arrival at offices of people trapped in depression, takes into account the suicide rate and the alarm expressed by society for the high registration of femicides to the point that recently three occurred on the same day and in different parts of the geography. Specialists associate depression and other disorders with the violence triggered by drug addiction, addiction to gambling, chronic stress, and the many Dominicans who turn to psychiatrists and psychologists affected by signs of emotional deterioration.

MINDS IN CRISIS

For the Spanish professor of psychology, Paula Atienza, it is not strange that young people from any country who are brought before prosecutors and courts are more chronically affected by anxiety and depression than those who do not commit crimes. According to their studies, “The rate of anxiety and depression in the population in trouble with the law indicates that almost half experience mental health disorders while serving time and even while at large.”

“In addition, mental health problems go hand in hand with criminological problems; people who continue to offend after adolescence are almost three times more likely to experience emotional health problems,” he added. According to other scientific evidence, there is a close link between the inclination to misconduct and post-traumatic stress disorders, personality limits, anxiety, substance abuse, sleep disorders, eating disorders,s, and suicidal tendencies.

In the same order, and as if the State understood that the health of those deprived of liberty deserves greater attention, some prisons have pavilions to care for inmates with mental disorders. At least this has been reported by the General Directorate of Penitentiary and Correctional Services in apparent reaction to complaints of overcrowding and humiliating treatment behind the bars of the system that accentuate emotional affection.

He also indicated that the transfer of inmates to the Padre Billini Psychosocial Rehabilitation Center is routinely arranged. He reported that the National Office of Public Defense has managed to transfer inmates with mental health disorders to that place urgently. The authorities admit that Dominican penitentiaries have cases that are considered standard in the general population: “mood disorders, abuse of illicit substances (narcotic portions are discovered in cells all the time) and schizophrenia.

NOTORIOUS FAILURES

Specialists convened by the Corripio Communications Group recently concluded something that does not seem to be enough: “Medications for mental illnesses must be integrated into the High-Cost Medication Program because any patient requires around 50,000 pesos per month in addition to paying for private consultations that on average cost between RD$3,500 and RD$6,000. With a tendency to become more expensive after the country has crossed the pandemic”. For a bipolar or schizophrenic patient, the cost of every 30 days of their medications rises to RD$40,000 and RD$50,000 when the attacks are acute.

The Health Risk Administrators usually cover only the first two consultations, but these conditions require continuous attention. Another conclusion from the meeting was: “When there is a patient of these characteristics, the family economy is greatly affected.” Some patients must be taken twice a month to specialists who feel free to raise their fees from RD$7,000 to RD$12,000.

Even though public hospitals have no costs in the Dominican Republic, they barely had 467 psychologists, at least until a year ago. This implies less than one for every 100,000 inhabitants when there should be at least five. In the case of psychiatrists, there were 356 nationwide at public and private care levels.

KEY FACTS

Among mental illnesses that affect the population, it has been reiterated that there are depression, anxiety, personality, affective, emotional, bipolar disorders, psychosis, alcoholism, and abuse of legal and illegal drugs. A country nestled in the heart of a continent where, according to figures from the Pan-American Health Organization, at least 75% of affected people do not receive treatments recognized as effective. 75% of people with schizophrenia in this country, who tend not to think or feel, have never been seen by a professional.

Alcohol consumption is predominant in 8.2% of the population over fifteen years of age. Still, consumption among minors is not quantified because policies to remove them from such contact are not directed at them either. Ordinarily, at Easter and Christmas, many children are rushed to hospitals and clinics with overindulgence, with or without the consent of parents and guardians, many of them unable to recognize the risks of premature ingestion of spirits.

Every year, and in circumstances that often involve drinking beverages that the states themselves proclaim as very harmful, in the region of the world to which the Dominican Republic belongs, 93,337 deaths by suicide are registered. The rate of decisions to end one’s life has been increasing by 17% since the year 2,000. The average public expenditure on mental health in this entire hemisphere region is only 3%. We have already seen that it barely represents 1% in the Dominican Republic, probably one of the most painfully low in Latin America.

The loud music and even louder engine noise coming from the so-called “kitipos,” which occur from the early hours of the afternoon until the early hours of the morning, generate intense anxiety in different neighborhoods of the country.

HOY newspaper confirmed this reality when it moved to the Los Alcarrizos sector in Santo Domingo Norte as part of the special series Hoy en tu barrio. In interviews, several community members agreed that the noise is so unbearable that some have had to “sleep at work” to rest.

Survey

To find out if this situation is replicated in other communities, Hoy newspaper surveyed social networks, asking readers: “Do you face problems in your community due to loud music or other annoying noises?«

Most Internet users responded affirmatively, denouncing that noise pollution affects their quality of life.

Complaints from citizens

Hostensia expressed his frustration with the noise pollution: “I almost bleed from my ears, every day of the week, the whole day the windows shake from the noise, you can’t watch TV, you can’t rest.”

Angela Harvey denounced the alarming situation in La Vega: “Yes, La Vega is a disaster. Among the businesses that give permission to open in front of houses, schools, hospitals, and cars with horns, they are destroying peace.”

Orquídea narrated her experience: “We can’t rest easy, the street is on foot and those neighbors have parties every day. Believe me that last Tuesday we had to close the house and go somewhere else, we couldn’t hear our own voice. That is from Monday to Monday, and to make it more tragic they also do karaoke.”

Another user lamented the lack of control: “There is still a long way to go to control this disease, which is a disorder.”

Sandra, for her part, said that the situation is even more serious due to insecurity: “There is a lot of scandal, with criminals covering our society.”

They ask for action from the authorities

Some citizens took advantage of the conversation on social media to call on the Minister of Interior and Police, Faride Raful.

Richard encouraged the official: “Yes, the whole country is a noise. Faride, go ahead and fight this disorder.”

Francisco Alberto Encarnación denounced the constant problem of noise pollution in his sector, Villa Liberación, in Santo Domingo Este: “We have a lot of problems with noise pollution.”

However, not all users agreed with the complaints. Julissa Crisóstomo and Miguel affirmed that they do not face this situation in their sectors.

For his part, Yunior describes noise pollution as a widespread problem: “This is a society sick with noise. Good for Faride Raful, the people need to rest.”

The Ministry of Health reported that it has the necessary vaccines to protect the population and aims to cover 95% of people requiring inoculation.

The director of Immunopreventable by Vaccines (IVD) of the Ministry of Health, Aida Lucía Vargas, said that vaccines to reduce the risk of influenza A and B, among others, are available in more than 1,450 fixed posts throughout the national territory.

Anyone as young as six months of age can get a flu vaccine at these vaccination sites for free.

The director reported that in 2025, in addition to girls between 9 and 14 years old, boys of the same age will also be vaccinated against human papillomavirus. Before, we only vaccinated females.

Vargas indicated that the Dominican Republic, through the Ministry of Health, has a vaccination schedule following its epidemiological situation. This schedule includes vaccines against hepatitis B and pentavalent (which prevent diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, rubella, and mumps) and for reducing the risk of meningitis, whooping cough, rotavirus, and TDAP for pregnant women, among others.

“We have vaccines for the entire life course of people,” she said.

The specialist called on parents to go to the vaccination centers with their children to protect them from diseases.

Dr. Evangelina Soler, a pulmonologist, assures us that there is no doubt about the increase in respiratory processes. However, she insists that it is what is expected this season.

These are stationary viruses, such as influenza, which have resulted in an infectious rebound that should be monitored.

“Most of the patients who come to our clinic are affected by the influenza virus,” said the health professional when interviewed by Hoy. Other viruses are also occurring in the child population, such as the OC43 variant of the coronavirus. It mainly affects the little ones.

Soler says that professionals are observing lung conditions in young patients in their consultations. This infection produces bilateral infiltrates in the lungs and is quite different from what is usually seen, as previously, it produced little pathogenicity.

Recommendations

Older adults and minors should wash their hands properly and avoid contact with sick people with respiratory processes. People who have health conditions such as kidney or cardiovascular conditions should avoid contact with those who have respiratory infections.

The same goes for those with diabetes, liver disease, and pulmonological problems. They should wash their hands and take care of their health.

Other specialists

Experts agree that viruses such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and seasonal coronaviruses persist in respiratory infections.

This week, Dr. Robert Paulino said that these viral illnesses can be prolonged due to variability in temperature and humidity. These increasingly aggressive viruses require continuous vigilance. Every day, specialists report more cases of respiratory conditions.

For specialists, viral diseases in the northern hemisphere require preventive measures that must be adopted in the Dominican Republic this year to avoid outbreaks. The seasonal shift from winter to spring in the northern hemisphere marks a period of environmental transition that influences infectious disease dynamics.

More incidence

For specialists in these diseases, the seasonal transition shows increased respiratory and arboviral viral infections. Arbovirals at the arrival of spring and the increase in humidity create conditions conducive to the proliferation of diseases.

Santo Domingo—Nurses at the Santo Domingo Health Center say that the population is heeding the call of Public Health and regularly coming to get vaccinated against influenza, polio, and human papillomavirus (HPV).

The nurses explained that the flu vaccine is one of the most requested by users, both adults and children, especially during the seasons when flu cases tend to increase.

On the other hand, the person in charge of the vaccines area, Alvin Johnson, highlighted the availability of the HPV vaccine, which will be used as a preventive method for boys between the ages of 9 and 14 as well as girls.

In the case of polio, Jonhson emphasized that unlike the flu and HPV vaccines, it is a compulsory vaccine given to children from two months of age, and the schedule is completed by age four.

In the same vein, the manager pointed out that, given the center’s activity and high demand for offering vaccination services free of charge, they currently have a sufficient supply of vaccines to attend to the entire population that wishes to come.

“The country and the center do have the necessary and sufficient vaccines to vaccinate the population,” said Johnson.