Panamanian authorities have taken full control of waste collection in the San Miguelito district due to the risk of a sanitary crisis. The Cabinet Council authorized the Urban and Domestic Cleaning Authority (AAUD) to assume full responsibility for waste removal. This is an emergency measure aimed at protecting the health of over 200,000 residents. The decision was made after it became evident that the local authority lacks the operational capacity to ensure the continuity of the service. Waste collection had been suspended, and the formalization of contracts with companies that were supposed to take over the task after January 19 was delayed. The administrator of the AAUD, Ovil Moreno, warned that the actions taken so far are palliative and that the situation could worsen again. Minister of Health Fernando Boyd Galindo emphasized that the government intervened to contain a high-risk sanitary situation, allocating nearly $700,000 to a temporary solution to prevent massive waste accumulation and the possible spread of diseases associated with unsanitary conditions.
