Due to its geographical location, the Republic of Paraguay is mostly referred to as Corazón de America (Heart of America). The landlocked South American country has become independence from Spain in 1811, with its climate varies from subtropical to moderate.
Paraguay is considered a middle-income country with a GDP per capita USD4, 700; although the informal economy means that, the validity of this figure is questionable. Annual growth of GDP has been the highest in South America, timing back to 1970 when the nation began its evolution from agriculture to industry. More than half the population is now based in urban parts. Income inequality is extremely high in Paraguay, mostly in rural parts, where a partial number of landowners manage over arable property, and extensive social unrest.
Expectancy of life in Paraguay is 72 years for men and 78 for women, and total health spending per capita is USD342, merely a small part of the regional average, although this numbers represents 7.6 per percent of GDP. Paraguay's health system is very low compared with its regional neighbors, with 11.1 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants, is less than half the regional standard. There is a severe shortage of nurses and midwives, and only 17.9 per 10,000 inhabitants, about one third of the regional average. A program of the Latin American Medical School (ELAM) in Cuba has been dedicated to educating more doctors Paraguayans to address this shortage.
While most all urban people have access to safe water and sanitation, this is not the case of remote countryside areas, where only 60 percent of inhabitants have access to clean water. However, this represents a serious improvement, because only 25 % of rural Paraguay people had access to water drinking in 1990.
The rates of HIV and tuberculosis (TB), HIV prevalence is below the world average, but the transmission of HIV is expected to increase the migration of Argentina and Brazil, and tuberculosis, is believed to be underreported, especially in urban areas. Because a recent outbreak of yellow fever in Paraguay in 2008, the WHO has recommended vaccination for all travelers to the country. A 2011 outbreak of dengue disease has claimed at least nine lives after more than 3,000 normal cases of the disease. Prior to visiting Paraguay, a visit to a doctor and travel medicine specialist is recommended. Routine immunization should be updated, with: pertussis, mumps and rubella (MMR), measles, diphtheria and poliovaccine and tetanus (DPT), and typhoid and hepatitis A and B. Despite efforts to reduce rabies cases, the new ones are produced each year, so vaccines must be updated before traveling to Paraguay.
