PRAIS Teams Raise Alarm Over Potential Program Discontinuation: «It Would Be a Setback for Human Rights»

Original article: Equipos PRAIS alertan por posible descontinuación del programa: “Sería un retroceso en derechos humanos” A new letter addressed to Health Minister May Chomali from the technical teams, active workers, and former employees of the Comprehensive Health Repair and Care Program (PRAIS) has raised alarms. The letter comes in response to a recent technical recommendation from the Budget Directorate (Dipres) and the Ministry of Finance that suggests discontinuing the funding and operations of the PRAIS. It expresses deep technical, ethical, and legal concerns regarding this recommendation.

The statement emphasizes that the PRAIS program, during the last operational year, recorded a budget execution of over $8. 315 billion, and stresses that this is not an optional expenditure for the state, but rather part of Chile’s reparative duties for serious human rights violations committed between 1973 and 1990. In the document, they explain that discontinuing the program is not simply a matter that can be resolved through a budget line, due to the normative hierarchy supporting it, such as Law 19.

980, which enshrines and protects a state policy that recognizes human rights violations. Through PRAIS, the state fulfills this law by providing ongoing health benefits to individuals identified in the reports of the Rettig and Valech Commissions. They also reference Technical Health Standard No.

88 from 2006 and its updated version No. 253. Here they clarify that the regulations from the Ministry of Health and their implementation within the healthcare network are part of this reparative policy, recognizing the consequences of human rights violations as a public health problem that affected both direct victims and Chilean society as a whole.

These provisions ensure specialized and free care, so eliminating the program would undermine that protection and expose thousands of users to a situation of clinical and legal abandonment. Lastly, they highlight the Principle of Conventionality, stating, «Chile has signed and ratified international treaties such as the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights establishes that reparations must be ‘comprehensive’, which includes not only measures of moral, legal, and economic reparation but also physical, mental, and psychosocial rehabilitation.

Ending this program would constitute a regressive act in human rights, which is prohibited by international law. » Re-victimization, Mental Health, and Healthcare Collapse: Alarms for PRAIS They also warn that, from a technical perspective, eliminating PRAIS would have systemic consequences for Public Health, such as re-victimization and iatrogenic harm, stating that «the abrupt interruption of therapeutic processes in a population with chronic psychosocial vulnerabilities can trigger mental health crises, physical decompensations, and a profound sense of abandonment by the State, reviving the original trauma. » They explain that during its 33 years of operation, PRAIS has gathered scientific evidence linking the abandonment of reparatory policies to higher rates of illness, premature aging, suicides, and transgenerational harm resulting from state terrorism.

On another note, they express concern about the loss of specialized expertise: “The program has multidisciplinary teams trained in addressing transgenerational trauma and torture. These skills cannot be automatically transferred to the general healthcare network (APS), which is already overloaded. Moreover, the transfer of specialized knowledge to a lower complexity level within the network, which lacks the necessary human resources and foundational experience in this field, is a slow and complex process requiring dedication and commitment that is currently disregarded by the directives in question.

” Finally, they highlight their worry about the increased burden on the healthcare network, as discontinuing the program would shift the service load to APS and general hospitals, thereby increasing wait times and diminishing care quality for all citizens. “Austerity Cannot Undermine Human Rights” Finally, the letter calls for reflection and action from the authorities, noting that fiscal austerity is a valid management principle, but it should not be used to dismantle the architecture of human rights. “The Finance document suggests ‘discontinuing’ socially sensitive programs like PRAIS under a cost-benefit logic that does not apply to the state’s moral debts.

We also reject the violations of our rights as PRAIS workers, which were earned after years of battling for the defense of social rights. The measures announced by central authorities disregard our legitimate right to participate in health policy formulation, particularly regarding the design and development of PRAIS,” they declare. The letter concludes by stating, “A country that erases its memory and its reparations risks repeating its past pains.

We request the ministerial authority to intervene to rectify this recommendation, ensuring not only the continuation but also the strengthening of PRAIS teams, in line with the principle of Non-Repetition and strict respect for human dignity. ” Finally, you can review the doctors and signing teams: 1. PRAIS Metropolitan Central Team.

2. PRAIS Los Ríos Team. 3.

PRAIS Osorno Team. 4. PRAIS CRS Dr.

Salvador Allende Gossens Team. 5. PRAIS Antofagasta Team.

6. PRAIS Arica Team. 7.

PRAIS Magallanes Team. 8. PRAIS San Antonio Valparaíso Team.

9. PRAIS Atacama Team. 10.

PRAIS Araucanía Sur Team. 11. PRAIS Metropolitan East Team.

12. PRAIS Metropolitan North Team. 13.

PRAIS Reloncaví Team. 14. PRAIS Concepción Team.

15. PRAIS Metropolitan South Team. 16.

PRAIS Araucanía North Team. 17. PRAIS Aconcagua Team.

18. PRAIS Iquique Team. 19.

PRAIS O’Higgins Team. 20. PRAIS Talagante Team.

21. PRAIS Tomén Team 22. PRAIS Arauco Team 23.

PRAIS Melipilla Team 24. PRAIS Metropolitan West Team 25. PRAIS Metropolitan Southeast Team 26.

PRAIS Penco-Lirquén Team. 27. PRAIS Tomé Team.

28. PRAIS Maule Team. 29.

PRAIS Ñuble Team. 30. PRAIS Higueras Team.

31. PRAIS Talcahuano Team. 32.

PRAIS Viña del Mar-Quillota-Petorca Team. 33. PRAIS Aysén Team.

34. PRAIS Biobío Team. 35.

PRAIS Chiloé Team. Dr. Enrique Villa Acosta, Surgeon.

Former PRAIS worker. Dr. Fernando Quiroga Carrasco, Psychiatrist.

Former PRAIS worker. Dr. Henry Vila Chaves, Psychiatrist.

Former PRAIS worker. Dr. Mariana Hepp Castillo, Psychiatrist.

Former PRAIS worker. Dr. Marleny Marín Catalán, General Practitioner.

Former PRAIS worker. Dr. Javiera Andrade Morales, General Practitioner.

Former PRAIS worker. Ps. Felipe Pando, Clinical Psychologist.

Former PRAIS worker. Ps. Catalina Azua Aros, Clinical Psychologist.

Former PRAIS worker. Klgo. Felipe Alfaro Valdés, Kinesiologist.

Former PRAIS worker. Ps. Reiner Fuentes Ferrada, Clinical Psychologist.

Former PRAIS worker. Ps. Alejandra Henríquez Prieto, Clinical Psychologist.

Former PRAIS worker. Ps. Diego Martín, Clinical Psychologist.

Former PRAIS worker. Adtva. Jessica Ñirril Badilla, Administrative Worker.

Former PRAIS worker. Tons. Catalina Mansilla Rosas, Advanced Level Technician in Dentistry.

Former PRAIS worker. Adtva. Tiare Mansilla Bustamante, Administrative Worker.

Former PRAIS worker. Adtva. Angela Zúñiga Zúñiga, Administrative Worker.

Former PRAIS worker. Vivian Turra Pedersen, Former Head of the Transversal Program SSDR. Yarka Lorena Elgueta Ojeda, PRAIS Facilitator.

Sol Urrutia Valencia, PRAIS Facilitator. Marisel Alvarado Barría, PRAIS Facilitator. Juan Cristóbal Antúnez Larraín, PRAIS Facilitator.

Paola Ulloa Barrientos, PRAIS Facilitator. Nataly Fontealba Balle, PRAIS Facilitator.