Venezuela – a country of constant crisis

Chaos, long queues for food, fear mixed with a timid hope for a better future – this is what the first days after the US military operation in Venezuela look like. Venezuela is a country that has been struggling with a humanitarian crisis for years: since 2014, nearly 8 million people have fled the country. Those who have remained face difficulties accessing food, medicines, and basic medical care. – In such crises, the weakest suffer the most – comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission, which supports Venezuelans both in the country and in neighbouring Colombia.

The overthrow of Nicolás Maduro and the resulting political destabilisation are another element of the systemic chaos that Venezuelans have been facing for years. External sanctions, corruption, hyperinflation, and the paralysis of public institutions have made even basic products a luxury. In many regions of the country, hospitals operate in emergency mode, life-saving medicines are lacking, and medical staff are working beyond their limits. For families, this means dramatic choices: whether to spend money on food and basic services, or on medicines and healthcare. The current situation only deepens the overwhelming uncertainty about the future.

– I live close to the government district of Miraflores. From my apartment I heard gunfire and bombings from around 2 a.m., and my neighbours heard them too. Around 3:15 in the morning everything went quiet and there were no more explosions. Around 4 a.m., information started to appear about what had happened, that Maduro had been kidnapped. It felt totally unreal. We still don’t know much more. There are long queues for food, and we are afraid of what the coming days may bring – says anonymously a paediatrician from Caracas cooperating with the Polish Medical Mission.

The crisis does not stop at Venezuela’s borders. Millions of people are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, primarily Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, often arriving there without means of subsistence or access to healthcare. Since Nicolás Maduro came to power, nearly 8 million people have fled the country – one in four of its citizens.

– South America is a region we talk about far too little on a daily basis. For years, we have been providing Venezuelan women and men with access to healthcare: both by co-financing the operation of a clinic in Rubio and by supporting Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. Any further escalation of the armed conflict will be a catastrophe for civilians who have had limited access to basic goods and services for years – comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission.

The Polish Medical Mission provides assistance both in Venezuela and in Colombia, where at least 2.5 million Venezuelan women and men have found shelter. In the Venezuelan town of Rubio, the Polish organisation supports the Benedict XVI Clinic. The staff provide free medical care, including general medicine, gynaecology, obstetrics, and paediatrics. PMM has also implemented food assistance and vaccination projects in Venezuela. In Colombia, refugee women can access prenatal consultations at free mobile clinics in Bogotá, accompanied by educational materials and meetings on reproductive and sexual health. For many women, such places are the only source of information and essential care.