Healthcare

A 2026 medical mission is scheduled for September 12 to 15 in Paccha, with registration open through July 30 at the Paccha parish GAD offices. The mission includes plastic, pediatric, and gynecological procedures.

Ecuador’s Health Ministry activated epidemiological surveillance and a rapid-response protocol in Cuenca after a suspected measles case. Health workers are checking vaccination cards, applying free doses where needed, and monitoring public and private health facilities for additional suspected cases.

Cuenca-born hematologist Esteban Tamariz is working in Navarra on CAR-T research that uses antibodies from Andean llamas to improve attacks on multiple myeloma.

Operación Sonrisa Ecuador and the Health Ministry will hold a free surgery campaign from July 22 to 25 at Hospital Regional Vicente Corral Moscoso, with evaluations scheduled first for July 22.

Gualaceo surgeon Jorge Bravo López directed a robotic telesurgery between Gualaceo and Harbin, China, across more than 35,000 kilometers, setting a Guinness record for the longest-distance remote surgical intervention recorded so far.

A University of Cuenca research project is testing SISA, a mobile app, website, and AI assistant designed to improve HPV screening follow-through among women in local parishes.

FASEC and Hospital Santa Ines renewed a five-year agreement to support palliative care in Cuenca. The foundation says its unit has capacity for 25 patients and is the only palliative-care unit in the Austro.