Venezuela healthcare crisis: Hospitals face collapse and supply shortages

The Venezuelan healthcare system is facing a severe crisis, characterized by widespread hospital abandonment and a lack of essential medical supplies. Douglas León Natera, president of the Venezuelan Medical Federation, reports that approximately 95% of the country's hospitals are nearly closed, with only a handful functioning properly. He noted that 302 hospitals nationwide require repairs, specifically citing the Social Security Hospital in Valera, Trujillo state, as being abandoned and non-functional.

At the Hospital Central Dr. Pedro Emilio Carrillo in Valera, families are forced to personally fund medical treatments, including the purchase of antibiotics and syringes, due to the absence of public supplies. The facility suffers from critical unsanitary conditions, including a lack of potable water and the presence of rodents. Furthermore, the nursing staff has been significantly depleted by migration, leaving remaining personnel overburdened.

Data from the HumVenezuela platform corroborates this collapse, stating that 85% of medical equipment in the national public network is inoperable, a figure that rises to 90% in laboratories. Additionally, seven out of ten hospitals lack regular access to clean water.