(Pictures from September 2017)

The current political, economic and social crisis in Venezuela has taken a heavy toll on the country’s health system. One of the many consequences is that medical facilities are in poor state due to the lack of water, electricity, staff and supplies. Additionally, certain diseases, such as malaria, have started to reappear. Venezuela was famously the first World Health Organization (WHO) certified country to eradicate malaria in 1961, but the Venezuelan Ministry of Health and WHO have recently declared that it became endemic again. In 2017, MSF signed a cooperation agreement with the Public Health Institute of the State of Bolívar. Thanks to this agreement, MSF managed to provide important support to the Malaria Program for the control of the disease in the municipality of Sifontes, a mining town with close to perfect conditions for mosquitoes to reproduce. MSF has a comprehensive approach including test and treatment of malaria cases, prevention through a massive distribution of mosquito nets and spraying of households and specific medical care for the severe cases. But the medical situation in Bolivar remains critical and much more needs to be done to eradicate malaria from the region and to ensure as well that it is possible for the population to access proper medical care.