Even before the coronavirus epidemic, the magnitude of the health crisis made Venezuelans fear the worst if there were any health problems. "It is forbidden to get sick", summarized a retiree who, in 2017 in Caracas, complained about the deterioration of the health system and hospitals. Feliciano Reyna, specialist in public health issues and director of the Action Solidaire association, considers that "Venezuela, which has experienced a complex humanitarian emergency for several years, is in very bad shape to face the pandemic".
With 70 officially confirmed cases, the Covid-19 arrives in a country that has seen its GDP fall by 65% since 2013. The economic sanctions decreed by Washington against the socialist government of Nicolas Maduro and the recent collapse in oil prices further complicate the given. Venezuela sold its crude for less than 20 dollars this Friday.
Faced with Covid-19, the government of Nicolas Maduro reacted very quickly. On March 12, even before a first case was officially detected (two will be the next day), the president suspended flights from Europe, decreed the health system in "Permanent state of emergency" and announced the development of 46 hospitals "Sentries" to deal with the crisis. Four days later, Mr. Maduro quarantined the entire territory.
"The government has taken the right steps", said surgeon Jaime Lorenzo, president of the United Doctors for Venezuela association, which brings together more than 4,000 members of the profession, in Venezuela and abroad. "But we have reason to be very worried," he continues.
Dilapidated hospitals and drug shortage
In a country where the mainstream media are tightly controlled, the government is believed to have ignored or concealed the actual number of patients and to continue to do so. "We are not in a position to know the exact situation, specifies the specialist. Only the National Institute of Hygiene is authorized to carry out tests. Because of the shortage of gas, some hospitals simply cannot request it. " Transport problems complicate the mobilization of nursing staff on a daily basis.
The flagship of the Bolivarian revolution at the time of the oil windfall, the community medicine program set up by Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) with the help of Cuban doctors sank when, at the end of 2013, oil prices fell are collapsed. At the same time, the public health system has suffered the consequences of years of neglect. Due to lack of investment, hospitals are now dilapidated and ill-equipped; for lack of budget, they lack drugs and medical equipment.
