Currently, our healthcare sector is at the center of a profound debate. Major challenges such as the shortage of medical personnel, extremely long waiting lists, the integration of hospitals, and the high costs of care require a structural solution and not simply temporary measures. Recently, the Minister of Health announced that medicines have been put back on the AZV list. Although this is a relief, this decision leaves the people without a definitive answer regarding the direction of our healthcare. Therefore, Member of Parliament Hendrik Tevreden raises a fundamental question: What exactly is the National Health Care Plan for Aruba?
Tevreden pointed out that if we do not have a clear destination, it becomes impossible to determine which path we must follow. He explained that during recent years, Aruba has heard different proposals; one time there is talk of a merger, another time of integration, only to later shift the focus to financial sustainability, personnel shortages, or a lack of medicine, without having a defined line. For the MP, current challenges cannot be treated as fragmented decisions, as they all lead to the main question: What is the strategic vision for the future of our healthcare, and how does Aruba want its healthcare system to look in 2030, 2035, and 2040?
In this context, he addressed the following questions to the Minister of Health, which have not yet been answered:
Is there a national document that defines this?
Are there concrete goals that can be measured?
Are there clearly fixed priorities or a realistic roadmap?
How are we going to attract and retain doctors, specialists, and nurses?
What is the plan for our elderly and the vision for mental health?
What is the strategy to combat obesity and chronic illnesses?
What role does the Government see for ImSan in the near future?
How are we going to reduce the dependency on treatment abroad?
What is the role of technology, artificial intelligence, and telemedicine?
“Without this comprehensive vision, we run the risk of taking individual measures that might make sense today, but do not necessarily connect with a structural management plan for tomorrow,” Tevreden emphasized.
Aruba spends hundreds of millions of florins each year on healthcare. That is a massive investment in the well-being of our people. But investment without direction is not enough. We need a national vision that transcends electoral periods, transcends governments in office, and goes further than individual institutions.
According to the MP, the greatest challenge of our healthcare system is perhaps not a lack of resources, but rather the lack of a shared direction. “The people of Aruba deserve to know not only how we are managing today’s crises; they also deserve to know how we are preparing for tomorrow’s needs.”
And to this day, Tevreden maintains that the most crucial question addressed to the minister remains without a clear and definitive answer: What exactly is the National Health Care Plan for Aruba?