Amid Venezuela political crisis, shortages of medicine soar

Amanda Trejos | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 'Green Helmets' give aid to Venezuela protesters Anti-government protests in Venezuela have been growing more violent, making the work of medical students, the so-called 'Green Helments' and their movement of volunteer paramedics more dangerous, with one member recently killed. (June 2)

As political unrest in Venezuela erupts for the third consecutive month, thousands of people need medical aid but face difficulties obtaining basic supplies due to severe shortages.

The country has been suffering an 85% shortage of medicine and a 90% deficit of other medical supplies used to treat severe conditions like cancer and hemophilia, according to the Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela — leaving a nation of 31 million without proper medical care.

Although Venezuela has faced food and medicine shortages in the past, the situation has become heightened over the past four years under President Nicolás Maduro. Anti-government protests that began in April have resulted in at least 70 deaths and more than 4,000 arrests, according to local human rights groups.

“The fact that there are protests implies there is an increase in the number of patients,” said Freddy Ceballos, president of the Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela. “We have a lot of injured people coming in, and unfortunately there is no medicine available for them.”

There has also been an uptick in demand for medicine used to treat mental health. “People here are very nervous,” Ceballos said, adding that citizens with anxiety and depression do not have accessibility to medications.

Anti-government Venezuelans have rallied against what they believe is an increasingly dictatorial regime. The U.S. and other regional governments have also demanded that the Venezuelan government respect human rights, stop its crackdown on protests, hold timely elections and scrap a bid to rewrite the constitution, according to the Associated Press.

“The tragic situation in Venezuela calls out for action. The Venezuelan people are starving while their government tramples their democracy,” United States ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Thursday.

Children are being sent to bed with no food and to school with no breakfast, causing many to faint during school hours, said Antonio Galindo, a teacher and activist.

“There are schools that try to give children free breakfast, but they've been having trouble because of food shortages and high prices. The situation is so drastic, you won’t even find an aspirin at a pharmacy,” Galindo said.

Cáritas de Venezuela, an agency that helps the poor by donating food and medicine, found in April that 11% of children under 5 years old are acutely malnourished.

“We need a social program that helps the entire family, not just the children, because a malnourished child comes from a family with serious problems,” said Janeth Marquez, director of Cáritas de Venezuela.

Adding to the crisis is the fact that more than 13,000 doctors — about 20% of medical personnel — have left the South American country in the past four years to find better opportunities elsewhere, according to the pharmaceutical federation.

High unemployment, triple-digit inflation and expensive food costs have driven thousands to flee the country, Marquez said.

Among the major medical concerns are child mortality rates, malaria, tuberculosis and whooping cough. In 2016 there were 240,613 confirmed cases of malaria — a 76% increase from 2015, according to the Ministry of Health.

Mario Santimone, the general secretary of the Venezuelan Red Cross, said the aid group has not taken sides with protesters or the government during the crisis.

"Shortages have affected everyone equally," Santimone said. “We do not get involved, we do not judge. The Red Cross helps the people, regardless of their political beliefs.”

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