Aid groups warn of healthcare crisis after Venezuela earthquakes
11 reported1 conflicting
Aid groups warned Tuesday that Venezuela's healthcare system is being pushed to its limits nearly a week after two powerful earthquakes, with damaged and understaffed hospitals overwhelmed by the injured and deteriorating conditions causing infectious diseases to spread. The government death toll has surpassed 1,700, with new bodies still being pulled from rubble. United Nations agencies expressed concern about health effects on thousands of displaced people sleeping in the open or in crowded, unsanitary shelters. Venezuelan officials say more than 15,800 people have been affected, a figure reflecting the official number of displaced, according to a UN refugee agency spokesperson. The World Health Organization warned that displaced people without access to toilets, showers, soap or nourishing food are vulnerable to preventable diseases like measles, and conditions are ripe for waterborne infections like dengue, yellow fever and malaria. The government reported that last week's earthquakes damaged or compromised 38 hospitals nationwide, and WHO has evaluated 21 of those facilities, with three no longer operating. Many specialist doctors are missing in the ruins, compounding healthcare challenges in a country that 8 million people have fled in recent years.
What’s reported
Aid groups warned Tuesday that Venezuela's healthcare system is being pushed to its limits nearly a week after two powerful earthquakes.
The government death toll has surpassed 1,700, with 5,000 injured as of Monday.
Venezuelan officials say more than 15,800 people have been affected by the earthquakes, according to UN refugee agency spokesperson Carlotta Wolf.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier warned of vulnerability to preventable diseases like measles and waterborne infections like dengue, yellow fever and malaria.
The government reported 38 hospitals nationwide were damaged or compromised by the earthquakes.
WHO evaluated 21 of those facilities; three are no longer operating, six sustained damage, and the rest are buckling under the influx of injuries.
Many specialist doctors are missing in the ruins, including officials in charge of maternity care in La Guaira.
8 million people, including many doctors and nurses, have fled Venezuela in recent years.
NASA estimates nearly 59,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
UNICEF said 680,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance nationwide.
One nongovernmental digital database listed at least 43,220 people as missing.
Conflicting accounts
Experts say the official toll is likely a significant undercount, as many more people remain missing. Authorities have not offered an official count of missing people, leading many Venezuelans to turn to nongovernmental digital databases.
Key figures
Carlotta Wolf, UN refugee agency spokesperson
Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization spokesperson
Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly
Sources: abcnews.com
