OPINION: Coronavirus highlights lack of science funding

Authorities facing the coronavirus crisis in Panama are deploying the necessary resources so that different hospital units can carry out tests that detect the virus. So far, this task has fallen exclusively on the Gorgas Commemorative Institute of Health Studies, which performs a titanic task, despite the fact that it does not have the adequate budget or the facilities that we deserve. Its last directors have fought against bureaucracy and little political importance to keep this institution competent, current and functional. We are in the time when we need science to understand the virus and continue working on the best ways to prevent, mitigate and combat it. Both Gorgas, as the National Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt) and the Institute for Advanced Scientific Research and High Technology Services (Indicasat-AIP) form the mainstays of scientific work in Panama. However, what the State dedicates as an investment in science does not reach the minimum international parameters. We cannot achieve our maximum potential as a country, nor will we be healthy and well protected, if there is no understanding of the scope of these institutions and if the conditions in which science is done in Panama are not improved.. –LA PRENSA, Mar. 16