Health in Ecuador

Ecuador has a comprehensive publicly funded health system and national health insurance. Free medical care (with an extensive system of hospitals and regional health clinics) is available to all residents regardless of income, and without buying any type of medical insurance. An extensive and proactive program for public health includes actions such as teams of nurses going door-to-door offering influenza vaccines to residents. Isolated rural areas are also served by this system, as physicians, dentists, and nurses are obliged to perform one year of "rural service" in these communities. This service is mandatory for professional licensing in Ecuador.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative found that Ecuador, based on its level of income, fulfilled 92.6% of requirements for the right to health, 97.1% for the right to health concerning children, and 90.9% for the right to health concerning adults. Ecuador falls into the "fair" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation fulfilled only 89.8% of expectations, based on its level of income.

Health conditions in Ecuador vary within its three distinct climatic regions: tropical, Sierra highland, and Amazon rainforest.

Most Ecuadorians live within the Sierra, such as the cities of Quito and Cuenca, where health conditions most commonly associated with the tropics do not exist. For example, the types of mosquitoes which carry malaria and dengue fever cannot live at an altitude above 2,300 meters (according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control), which is the minimum altitude throughout most of the Sierra.

Despite a lack of general agreement in the medical community about the prevalence of altitude-related conditions, some visitors to the highlands may experience symptoms. The lower atmospheric pressure of the Sierra can cause difficulty in breathing, nausea, and dizziness, but these conditions are typically not of long duration and require a period of reduced activity and conservative eating and drinking for acclimatization. Conversely, Ecuadorians who live most of their lives in the Sierra commonly require a brief period of readjustment after moving to sea level.

In the low-lying coastal regions and the Amazonian region, the predictable diseases of those climates exist. However, malaria and dengue fever are no longer epidemics in Ecuador. The potential for these diseases does exist, but mostly in isolated, economically depressed areas of the Amazon and seacoast. Life expectancy in Ecuador is approximately the same as in the United States.

For residents who are members of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security, an additional modern system of hospitals and clinics is provided through employee and employer payroll deductions or voluntary payments, as is the case with many expatriates residing in Ecuador. The monthly contribution for voluntary members for a family of two in this system is just over $80.^{[needs update]} Employees contribute .0935^{[clarification needed]} of their salaries for this coverage, but this also includes membership in the national pension system. Private health care is also available in the form of mostly smaller, doctor-owned health clinics. Private health insurance can be purchased but is largely used by middle- and upper-income groups.

Ecuador has benefited from the Cuban system of medical education, sending over 100 students per year (for over ten years) to the Escuela de Medicina Latinoamericana at no cost to the government of Ecuador or the students. The program requires that 50% of these students be women. Before returning to practice in Ecuador, it is common for these doctors to complete specialized residencies in the major cities of Argentina and Chile, among other countries. Additionally, Cuban nationals are numerous among the professors in the faculties of medicine in the major cities of Ecuador, including Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, and Ambato.