Last
Friday, Political/Economic Counselor Oliver Griffith visited
the public hospital in Rivera on behalf of U.S. Ambassador
Martin J. Silverstein, to deliver medical supplies donated
by the U.S. NGO Physicians for Peace.
The hospital director, Dr. Carlos Laguzzi,
and his staff were very pleased with the donation, especially
the surgical equipment and some hearing aids, which they
valued at about $50,000.
The donation was a follow-up to a 2003 visit
to Uruguay of a group of Physician for Peace doctors led
by Dr. Carl Manstein. The U.S. Embassy has long supported
Uruguay's health sector, either by facilitating donations
by private groups and NGOs such as Physicians for Peace,
or organizing donations from the stock of humanitarian supplies
made available by the U.S. Department of Defense.
