By 2019, more than 4.6 million Venezuelans had left the country as a result of political turmoil and socio-economic instability. This humanitarian crisis has resulted in the largest displacement in Latin America’s recent history. Currently, Colombia hosts the highest number of refugees and migrants, approximately 1.4 million people. MedGlobal has partnered with IPS Medcare to provide medical services in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, a city on the Venezuelan border. Our clinic is the only primary care clinic in Cúcuta where healthcare is free for Venezuelan migrants. The ongoing medical operation consists of local field staff and international volunteers who deliver medical, prenatal, and dental services. In 2019, MedGlobal provided care to more than 16,000 patients, including 818 prenatal patients.
Medglobal works in partnership with Action Against Hunger to provide nutritional services to children and pregnant patients. We have also supported the work of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation by donating a machine for rapid point-of-care CD4 testing.
The migrant crisis in Venezuela is the second largest worldwide after Syria. The challenge of this mass exodus is the healthcare condition of Venezuelan refugees. Venezuelan refugees require immediate healthcare services when arriving to receiving countries, both collapsing local healthcare systems and representing a public health threat if left untreated.
Unfortunately, the increase in migrants to Colombia has also resulted in an increase in rates of malnourishment among Venezuelans. Venezuelans are limited in jobs, housing, and resources to address their basic needs both in their home country and in the receiving countries to which they are migrating to.
In 2018 alone, there were more than 870,000 Venezuelan migrants in Colombia alone, with only 442,462 of these migrants capable of acquiring Permits of Permanence (PEP). PEP allows Venezuelans living in Colombia to access healthcare locally. This means that over half of the estimated displaced Venezuelans living in Colombia do not have access to healthcare, despite great government efforts.
With 27% of Venezuelan migrants being children, and many more being women of childbearing age, there is a dire need for primary care, pediatric care, and obstetric care. With increasing HIV rates, malaria outbreaks, and rising rates of malnourishment, and limited healthcare resources present, the situation for Venezuelan’s living in Colombia is dire.
March 20, 2020 In the midst of the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic, MedGlobal urges immediate and urgent action to support refugees, displaced persons, and the
March 20, 2020 In the midst of the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic, MedGlobal urges immediate and urgent action to support refugees, displaced persons, and the
The Venezuelan refugee exodus is the worst humanitarian crisis in the southern hemisphere, second only to the Syrian catastrophe. Fifteen percent of the population –
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