Здравоохранение Венесуэлы: от достижений к кризису.

After the Bolivarian Revolution, extensive inoculation programs and the availability of low or no cost health care provided by the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security made Venezuela's health care infrastructure one of the more advanced in Latin America.

Venezuelan state governments operated only five facilities in 1979, down from about sixty hospitals in 1970 since the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance (MSAS) took over many of the hospitals. In 1978, a presidential election year, medical sales in Venezuela hit an all time high, but dropped in 1979. In 1979, there were approximately 250 hospitals in Venezuela with MSAS operating the majority of them (58%). Venezuela had a shortage of medical professionals and hospital beds in the late 1970s due to a large increase in the population and a lack of specialization among health care professionals. The lack of both professionals and beds was higher in the rural areas compared to the more populated, urban areas. Between 1978 and 1980, Venezuela had 14,771 doctors, 8,805 nurses and 2,804 nursing auxiliaries. During the 1990s, the mortality rate was 318 per 100,000 population for diseases of the [cardiac system], 156 for cancers, 634 for external causes (including drowning, self harm, violence, falls, road accidents etc., 1126 for communicable diseases such as chest infections, syphilis, meningitis, and 654 for certain conditions originating before birth.

Following the Bolivarian Revolution and the establishment of the Bolivarian government, improvements in healthcare were promising due to the installation of free healthcare facilities and programs, and the assistance of Cuban medical professionals. The Bolivarian government's failure to concentrate on healthcare, the reduction of healthcare spending, and government corruption eventually affected medical practices in Venezuela causing avoidable deaths along with an emigration of medical professionals to other countries. Venezuela's reliance on imported goods and its complicated exchange rates (initiated by Hugo Chávez) led to increasing shortages during the late 2000s and into the 2010s that affected the availability of medicines and medical equipment in the country. In 2014 when Venezuela's economy was facing difficulties, Venezuela's healthcare system deteriorated. In August 2014, Venezuela was the only country in Latin America where the incidence of malaria was increasing. Venezuela registered the highest number of cases of malaria in the past 50 years, with 300 of 100,000 Venezuelans being infected with the disease. Medical shortages in the country also hampered the treatment of Venezuelans. Shortages of antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV/AIDS affected about 50,000 Venezuelans, potentially causing thousands of Venezuelans with HIV to develop AIDS. Venezuelans also stated that due to shortages of medicines, it was hard to find acetaminophen to help alleviate the newly introduced chikungunya virus, a potentially lethal mosquito borne disease. In September 2014, Health Minister Nancy Pérez admitted that there were 45,745 cases of dengue fever. There were also contested estimates involving the number of Venezuelans infected with chikungunya. In September 2014, the Venezuelan government stated that only 400 Venezuelans were infected with chikungunya In August 2015 independent health monitors said that there were more than two million people infected with chikungunya while the government said there were 36,000 cases. In October 2014, President Maduro announced a plan to create the University of Science and Health and called for a meeting of ALBA in order to discuss the combat against the Ebola virus disease due to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. Into the Maduro presidency, the government could not supply enough money for medical supplies among healthcare providers, with doctors saying that 9 of 10 large hospitals had only 7% of required supplies and private doctors reporting numbers of patients that are "impossible" to count dying from easily treated illnesses due to the "downward sliding economy" in 2014. Many Venezuelans died avoidable deaths with medical professionals having scarce resources and using methods that were replaced decades ago. In February 2014, doctors at University of Caracas Medical Hospital stopped performing surgeries due to the lack of supplies, even though nearly 3,000 people required surgery. In March 2014, the executive director of the Venezuelan Association of Hospitals and Clinics explained how in less than a month, shortages of 53 medical products rose to 109 and explained how the CADIVI system is to blame since 86% of supplies are imported with private sector hospitals claiming they owe suppliers billions of dollars in order to pay their debts. In early 2015, only 35% of hospital beds were available and 50% of operating rooms could not function due to the lack of resources. Also in 2015, 30% of all reported malaria cases in the Americas were in Venezuela (more than Brazil, which has a much larger population). In 2016, according to the Venezuelan government, 240,000 cases of malaria were reported, rising 76% in a year. In April 2017 Venezuela's health ministry reported that maternal mortality jumped by 65% in 2016 and that the number of infant deaths rose by 30%. It also said that the number of cases of malaria was up by 76%. Shortly after Minister of Health Antonieta Caporale released in 2017 this data, and health statistics showing increases in 2016 infant and maternal mortality and infectious diseases, Maduro fired her and replaced the physician with a pharmacist close to vice president Tareck El Aissami, Luis López Chejade. The publications were removed from the Ministry's website, and no further health data has been made available, although the government had produced health bulletins for several decades. The ministry had not reported health data in two years, and none has been reported since. In 2018 Venezuela continued to suffer acute shortages of food and medicines. In March 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that the "collapse of Venezuela's health system, once one of the best in Latin America, has led to a surge in infant and maternal mortality rates and a return of rare diseases that were considered all but eradicated. In March 2019, Red Cross officials was reported that the "collapse" of the health system had caused the return of old and eradicated rare diseases like yellow fever, dengue, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as a large increase in infant and maternal mortality rates. There was a concern that untreated migrants would begin to spread diseases to other countries. The United Nations estimated in 2019 that 2.8 million Venezuelans have healthcare needs, 300,000 are at risk of dying with cancer, diabetes or HIV as they have not had access to medicine for more than a year, and preventable diseases like diphtheria, malaria, measles and tuberculosis are rising in 2019, along with hepatitis A, because of sanitation and lack of access to water. The April 2019 HRW/Johns Hopkins report showed this rise in infectious and preventable diseases, as well as increasing malnutrition, infant and maternal death, and undertreatment of HIV. Inflation and medicine shortages have meant that patients are asked to bring their own food, water and soap, and medical supplies including scalpels and syringes.

Venezuela was affected by COVID 19 pandemic on 13 March 2020.

In 2008, private hospitals and clinics and the qualifications of their medical personnel were comparable to U. S. standards. Private health services were costly and overly full. The Venezuelan government accused private hospitals of profiteering. Two thousand doctors left the country between 2006 and 2008. A leading factor of this is the pitiful salaries of Venezuelan doctors. A typical doctor in Venezuela earns just $6.00 per month, amidst their current economic crisis.