EFE. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday that Venezuela’s death toll will likely rise significantly as search-and-rescue operations transition into the recovery phase following the recent earthquakes.
“The earthquake that struck last week has claimed more than 2,300 lives, injured more than 5,000 people, and left nearly 16,000 homeless,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO currently coordinates international emergency medical teams working on the ground. These teams treat the injured while supporting Venezuela’s national healthcare system so it can continue providing other essential medical services.
The organization acknowledged that years of underinvestment and financial crisis had already weakened the country’s healthcare system before the disaster. Those conditions drove tens of thousands of healthcare professionals to leave Venezuela and seek work abroad.
According to estimates cited by a WHO expert, hospitals already faced severe shortages before the earthquakes. Many facilities lacked as much as 37% of their essential medicines.
The earthquakes further worsened that fragile situation. An undetermined number of healthcare workers lost their lives, remain missing, or suffered injuries during the disaster.
A WHO emergency official noted that the person responsible for La Guaira’s maternal healthcare network remains missing and authorities now presume she died in the earthquake, a loss that has directly affected the medical response.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also announced that the WHO has released $1.5 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies and delivered more than six metric tons of medical supplies. The organization plans to send an additional 28 metric tons in the coming days.
The Venezuelan government has formally requested activation of the international emergency medical team deployment mechanism. Even before that request, several teams had already arrived, allowing seven emergency medical teams to begin operating in the affected areas.
