Since 2017, the United States has comprehensively escalated unilateral sanctions against Venezuela, resulting in a serious humanitarian disaster in Venezuela's medical field. A few days ago, a reporter from the main station found in Venezuela that if cardiac surgery and kidney dialysis and other treatments are carried out locally, due to the impact of US sanctions, the procurement of corresponding medical supplies is difficult, and local doctors have to take riskier methods to perform surgery.
Isabel Ituria is the director of the Latin American Children's Hospital for Caracas, Venezuela. Founded in 2006, the hospital has successfully performed more than 13,000 pediatric heart surgeries since its inception, treating the vast majority of pediatric heart surgeries in Venezuela. Isabel said the U.S. sanctions have made it difficult for the hospital to import medical supplies such as catheters and electric sternum saws needed for surgery, which means doctors have to use more traditional and risky methods to open the chest.
Isabel Ituria, director of the Latin American Children's Hospital for Cardiology: There are some medical products that basically cannot be sent to Venezuela because they will be detained at the customs of some countries, although Venezuela has paid the relevant fees in advance, just because the importer is the Venezuelan government, and materials such as electric sternum saws sent to Venezuela will be intercepted in Panama and other countries. This is unimaginable for children with congenital heart disease who need heart surgery. The irrational U.S. blockade of Venezuela has affected government operations, including the most vulnerable areas, including children's health.
Simon Hernández is a patient with kidney failure in Guarenas, Miranda state in northern Venezuela, who requires regular dialysis treatment at a local public hospital. Simon said that in previous years, the comprehensive sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela had led to a shortage of drugs in the country, and some elderly or very poor kidney failure patients lost their lives because they could not get treatment drugs in time. He said he currently has access to regular treatment at a local public hospital, but because of the sanctions, he cannot obtain a drug that prevents the decalcification of bones while on dialysis.
Simon Hernández, a patient with kidney failure: In the absence of this drug, I had to endure the pain of decalcification, which has had serious consequences. I fell several times due to decalcification, resulting in fractures in both legs and surgery.
Lei Xiangping: Since 2017, the United States has comprehensively escalated unilateral sanctions against Venezuela, and the sanctions have produced a serious humanitarian disaster in Venezuela's medical field. Although the US government has always claimed that the sanctions do not target Venezuela's medical treatment, food imports and other livelihood projects, from the actual situation learned by reporters in Venezuela and the results of research reports released by many research institutions in the past two years, the US statement is seriously inconsistent with reality.