Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was reported Friday to have replaced his health minister, just days after new data from the ministry surfaced, showing major increases in mosquito-borne diseases and infant deaths.
Venezuela held meetings with top international agencies on Thursday with the aim of coordinating efforts to guarantee access to key imported medicines in the South American country.
Venezuelan health minister, Henry Ventura, has announced a new program to improve consumer access to medicines through the coordinated participation of over 7,000 pharmacies nationwide.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro signed a decree creating the Venezuelan University of Health Sciences yesterday in order to train thousands of students in different medical disciplines.
Spokespersons for the pharmaceutical industry in Venezuela have warned that shortages of medicines exist in the country’s pharmacies, and hope that recent foreign currency allocations for imports will improve the situation.
The people of Venezuela enjoy health care as a constitutional right. Yet given the political economy of the pharmaceutical industry, the distribution of medication necessary to secure that right has been inconsistent.
This week the Venezuelan government launched a vaccine campaign which is equipped and estimated to serve over 3 million children. The procedure is has been set in motion in accordance with the Pan American Health Organization’s “Vaccine in the Americas” initiative.
