Argentina makes opening move in debt talks

[sandensea]

2. Thank you, Judi. What a trying time for all of us, surely.

They are indeed fortunate that Signore Macrì isn't still in office:

You'll recall that he had demoted the Health Ministry to a sub-cabinet 'secretariat' - and didn't even have a Health Secretary by the time he left! (Dr. Rubinstein - one of his better picks - had resigned in protest).

They're still finding health equipment that had been purchased but never used for lack of funds: in this latest case, a fleet of 24 ambulances.

They've just now been refurbished for immediate use in the Greater Buenos Aires area - the 30 counties surrounding Buenos Aires, whose 10 million people between them are often among the most underserved communities in the country.

Ready to go: 24 ambulances - bought in 2017 but never used for lack of funds - have just been refurbished for use in the Greater Buenos Aires area.

Unlike the relatively prosperous city of Buenos Aires, the 30 counties in the surrounding GBA have some of the highest poverty rates in the nation as well as strained health resources.