Two members of the departmental cabinet, of the three who were summoned to present their management progress reports and the projection of the budget for the period 2024, were absent in the session called by the Budget Commission of the Assembly.
The Secretary of Borders, Kimberly Jhulliana Labarca Rodríguez, and the director of the Norte de Santander Sports Institute, Beatriz Elena Vélez Ramírez, did not appear, the first with an excuse due to illness and the second for being present with the Norte de Santander delegation in the National Games that are taking place these days in municipalities of the Coffee Region.
The only one who attended to the summons was the director of the Departmental Institute of Health, IDS, Carlos Martínez, who in his presentation mentioned that, to date, 93 percent of the goals of the Development Plan have been met, however, he was questioned that the mental health goal in the department has not exceeded 50 percent.
Of the 30 municipalities in which this policy is outlined, it has only been fulfilled in 12 and with just 41 days left until the validity period ends, it remains to be done in 18 more.
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The president of the Budget Commission, Marcel Orlando Pérez, indicated that The department is quite affected in mental health, especially since 2020 when the COVID 19 pandemic entered. He said that the suicide figures are worrying.
Without revealing figures, Martínez admitted this situation and mentioned that the most affected during the pandemic are Cúcuta and Ocaña, the latter also due to domestic violence.
This policy – said the official – also depends on the mayors in the that was launched.
Another aspect that was touched upon during the session was health care for migrants, In the case of Norte de Santander there is already a figure of 267,000 only in the subsidized regime. “As it is the largest recipient of migrants in the country, it is something that is worrying due to the expense that this demands on health services,” said Pérez.
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Martínez said that this issue represents one of the greatest challenges for the department, especially because the entry of migrants is occurring with catastrophic illnesses “and in light of this, the law today requires us to provide them with the care they need.”
The official demanded the National Government’s willingness to be able to comply with payments to the hospitals that are providing care and in the case of Norte de Santander it is the Erasmo Meoz hospital to which the most money is owed for this concept.
There are more than 250,000 million pesos invoiced, of which there are already 135,000 million pesos ready for payment. Martínez assured that the department has only received $5.2 billion for payments for childbirth and cesarean section services.
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