Argentina’s President Javier Milei recently sparked backlash by falsely claiming that “70% of Garrahan Hospital’s staff is administrative” and blaming the hospital’s crisis on overstaffing. Photo by Sergio Perez/EPA-EFE
Argentina’s lower house of Congress will debate a bill Tuesday that would declare a two-year national health emergency in pediatric care. The measure aims to stabilize children’s medical services nationwide, with a focus on Garrahan Hospital, the country’s main pediatric facility.
The proposal seeks to ensure timely, equitable and high-quality access to pediatric care. It also calls for an immediate increase in funding for children’s hospitals and medical residency programs, with salaries updated to reflect their real value as of November 2023.
The debate comes amid a growing strain on Argentina’s public health system, marked by budget cuts, wage disputes and a wave of resignations from key hospitals.
Argentina’s public health system faces a worsening financial outlook. With no 2025 budget approved by Congress, the government extended the 2024 plan with modifications.
Health spending has dropped nearly 29% in real terms — adjusted for inflation — compared to the previous year, following a roughly 30% cut in 2023 — further straining the delivery of services and medical supplies.
The Health Ministry’s budget rose only 6% to $4.31 billion in 2025 from $4.06 billion in 2024. Its share of total government spending fell to 4.5% from 5.6%, despite annual inflation that reached 117.8% in 2024 and is projected at 28.6% for 2025, according to BBVA Research.
Alongside budget pressures, a growing shortage of healthcare workers is adding to the strain.
Argentina has 40.5 doctors per 10,000 residents — above the regional average — but their distribution is uneven, and poor working conditions are pushing professionals out of the public health system.
Delayed wages and heavy workloads are adding to the strain. Health unions warn that in many provinces, salaries have fallen below the basic cost of living, forcing staff to take on multiple jobs. About 70% of healthcare workers divide their time between public hospitals and the private sector to make ends meet, according to DataGremial.
The report also notes that several provinces and the federal government have struggled this year to fill medical residency slots — an unprecedented development blamed on low stipends and a lack of incentives to train in the public sector.
Meanwhile, demand for care remains high — and continues to rise during economic crises — as more Argentines rely exclusively on the public healthcare system. About 36% of the population, or roughly 16 million people, depend entirely on state-run coverage, according to the Health Ministry.
Garrahan Hospital has become a symbol of the country’s deepening healthcare crisis.
Since May, its staff — including doctors, residents, nurses and technicians — have staged rolling strikes and protests to demand emergency pay increases, citing what they describe as severe underfunding of the institution.
The strikes have led to the suspension of outpatient services, with care limited to emergencies and hospitalizations during walkouts, as negotiations with authorities remain stalled.
Staff shortages are beginning to take a toll. According to hospital unions, nearly 200 professionals have resigned from Garrahan in 2025. In recent weeks alone, at least 20 resident doctors left the hospital, saying their full-time wages — about $830 a month — were not enough to cover the cost of living in Buenos Aires.
President Javier Milei recently sparked backlash by falsely claiming that “70% of Garrahan’s staff is administrative” and blaming the hospital’s crisis on overstaffing. Hospital workers pushed back with official data showing that only 10% of employees hold administrative roles, while nearly 70% work in direct patient care, including doctors, nurses and technicians.
They also challenged Milei’s claim that the government had increased Garrahan’s budget by 240%. While acknowledging a nominal increase, hospital staff said inflation and stagnant wages had erased any real gains.
Amid the escalating crisis, a political response has taken shape in Congress, led by lawmakers from several opposition parties and backed by provincial health ministers.
To advance, the bill must still be reviewed by the Budget Committee, which is chaired by the ruling party. Opposition lawmakers say they plan to force debate during a special session July 2, accusing the government bloc of blocking the proposal.
