CARACAS, (Reuters) – Reports of shortages of cancer medicines in Venezuela are worrisome, a doctor representing the World Health Organization’s Americas arm in the scarcity-hit country said in a rare interview this week.
Currency controls that crimp imports and a decline in local production have led to shortages of contraceptives, surgical equipment and medicine in the oil-producing country.
On Monday, a small group of children suffering from cancer protested with their relatives in front of the Children’s Hospital J.M. de los Rios in Caracas over delays or intermittent supply of their chemotherapy.
“We’re worried (over reports) that these medicines are missing,” Dr. Celia Riera, a Cuban who represents the Pan American Health Organization in Venezuela, said in an interview.
Speaking at her office in eastern Caracas, Riera stressed the role of PAHO was “technical cooperation,” not opining about healthcare in member countries.
During his 14 years in power, late President Hugo Chavez tapped an oil bonanza to build thousands of free health centers in poor neighborhoods.
