Luciana Torchiaro, regional advisor for Latin America at Transparency International, assures that Venezuela has lost 5 billion dollars due to corruption during the Chavez and Maduro administration. The situation has directly impacted the country’s health-care system during the pandemic.
You must read Venezuela mired in a complex humanitarian crisis due to the great corruption: NGO says
In general, Torchiaro said that corruption is growing in Venezuela and that countries where corruption is rampant devote fewer resources to their health-care systems.
In the latest report, Venezuela was rated by Transparency as the fifth most corrupt nation on the planet, getting 15 points in a 0-to-100 points ranking system where less-corrupt countries such as New Zealand get 88 points, and more afflicted countries such as Haiti, 18 points. Of 180 nations ranked, only Syria (14), Somalia (12), and South Sudan (12) are more corrupt than Venezuela.
In an interview by the AFP news agency, Torchiaro indicated the situation directly affects the Venezuelan health system, which amid the health crisis suffered by the country before and after the arrival of COVID-19 in March 2020.
According to a report published by the organization in 2019, corruption in the world deprives public health systems of some $500 billion every year.
