In 2016, Venezuela’s number of cases of malaria grew 76 per cent, maternal mortality skyrocketed 60 per cent, and infant mortality rose 30 per cent, government figures show, as the South American country continued to see the collapse of its entire system of medical care and a broadening economic crisis.

Recession and currency controls in Venezuela have led to declines in local production and imports of foreign goods, resulting in shortages of everything from flour to vaccines and medicines. Three-quarters of the population lost an average of 19lb in body weight last year because there is so little food.

Maternal mortality, or death during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of a pregnancy, rose 65 per cent to 756 deaths, according to the report cited by Reuters. There were also 240,613 cases of malaria last year, up 76.4 per cent compared with 2015.

The Venezuelan government’s statistics also show that infant mortality, or deaths of children aged under one, increased around 30 per cent to 11,466 cases last year.

Around the world, infant death disproportionately affects marginalised and economically vulnerable populations, according to Wendy Hellerstedt, an epidemiology professor at the University of Minnesota.