In a new oral update on the Human Rights situation in Venezuela Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the deepest crisis at the Jose Manuel de Los Rios Children’s Hospital in Caracas, one of the most important health center in the country.
Bachelet, a trained pediatrician as well as a former President of Chile, pointed that the deterioration in services was before the sanctions imposed on the Nicolas Maduro regime from 2017 by the United States and other governments.
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“According to information received, the sanctions hindered the transfer of resources for treatment. However, they are compounded by the critical situation at the J.M. de Los Ríos Children’s Hospital in Caracas. At the end of 2019, only 21% of the beds were working,” she said.
Bachelet, who graduated as a pediatrician from the University of Chile in 1983, emphasized the suspension of the transplant program at the hospital.
“There is still an urgent need to address the situation of Venezuelan children in need of transplants. To date, 38 are still on the waiting list in Venezuela and six are still waiting to be seen in Argentina. And some have unfortunately died waiting for transplants,” she said.
In her brief speech at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, she joined the World Food Program in denouncing the food insecurity that affects 9.7 million Venezuelans.
Sanctions
Bachelet spoke again about the impact of the financial sanctions against the Maduro regime. She added that despite the increase of humanitarian aid from organizations like USAID, the United Nations, and the Red Cross, the most vulnerable continue suffering.
“Despite the exceptions established to allow imports of medicines, food and basic for humanitarian action, public services, and the general population continue to suffer the impact of strict scrutiny,” she said.
