China
16:18, 07-Jul-2017
Medical crisis in Venezuela after mass exodus of doctors
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Venezuela has struggled with a lack of doctors as many of them chose to leave the country. And this staffing crisis is having a profound effect on public health.
As CGTN’s Stephen Gibbs reports, government figures show maternal mortality soared 66 percent last year, while infant mortality is higher than in Syria.
The disaster that the country is facing is clear inside one of the country's hospitals. There is a lack of running water, hardly any medicines and basic cleanliness has been overlooked.
But the major issue is the shortage of doctors. The Venezuelan Federation of Doctors says that 16,000 doctors have left the country in the last 12 years.
Political turmoil is making matters worse. In the ward, the patients said that tear gas entered the hospital twice in the last three days. Outside, a center for investigative medicine was closed because the entire area had been looted.
Importing medicine and cleaning up hospitals could be done in a matter of weeks.
But persuading doctors back to work may take far longer.