Venezuelans struggle with medical supply shortages

Venezuelans struggle with medical supply shortages
Venezuelans struggle with medical supply shortages

Venezuelans struggle with medical supply shortages

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When he came to power, Hugo Chavez promised all Venezuelans access to free health care. He brought thousands of Cuban doctors to Venezuela to run community health centers, promising to provide quality care and not just to the country’s elite. His system seemed to work, at least for a time. For example, Venezuela saw infant mortality rates drop. But as the country’s economy has plunged further into crisis, so too has its healthcare system. Nowadays, antibiotics and other medicine is in short supply. The Associated Press reports that mastectomies for poor women are also on the rise, in part because public hospitals are unable to provide radiation treatment. Hannah Dreier, a correspondent with the Associate Press who is based in Caracas, joins us to discuss Venezuela’s collapsing healthcare system. (Photo: AP/Ariana Cubillos)