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"Bolivian health workers marched in the city of La Paz to demand the lifting of road blockades that, they say, have prevented the supply of medicines, oxygen and food to hospitals and medical centers across the country. Footage recorded on Thursday shows the so-called “White Coats March” led by personnel from the Departmental Health Council (Codesa), who carried signs accusing the shortages of medical supplies of affecting patients. “Unfortunately, hospitals are running out of supplies, there is a lack of oxygen, a lack of medicines and now there is also a lack of food. Therefore, if a march is being held today, it is to demand that the protesters grant a humanitarian pause to the department of La Paz,” said Luis Larrea, President of the La Paz Medical Association. According to Larrea, a humanitarian pause of four or five days could directly benefit hospitals in La Paz, so he called on the different social sectors to lift the blockades across the country. Meanwhile, Blood Bank director Ignacio Alurralde said the Unified Health Insurance system is one of the models most affected by the lack of donors, who have also been impacted by the blockades and protests in Bolivia. “We are even more concerned because there is a large number of people who need blood daily. Donors are not arriving. It is very difficult, first because of the lack of fuel, second because roads are blocked, and third because people are occupied with the daily desperation of finding food and moving from one place to another,” he explained. Professionals who participated in the march described specific cases of postponed surgeries, delayed patient transfers and depleted reserves of equipment and medicines. Hospital directors have sent formal requests to municipal and departmental authorities asking them to intervene and guarantee humanitarian corridors that would allow the passage of supplies and personnel. Regional government representatives announced talks with blockade organizers to open temporary routes for the entry of medical supplies and food. However, delegates from the social mobilization said negotiations are progressing slowly and that pressure on hospitals continues to intensify in the meantime. Bolivia has now seen more than three weeks of highway and road blockades in different regions of the country. The protests are being driven by unions and organizations mainly demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz."
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