On July 10th, 2024, Global Human Rights Clinic’s Research Fellow, Faisal Yamil Meneses, participated in a public hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concerning 10 precautionary measures for access to medical care in Venezuela. This hearing was particularly emblematic as it was decided ex officio by the Commission due to the critical relevance and ongoing risks to the hundreds of beneficiaries whose lives are in jeopardy daily. Faisal spoke on behalf of the civil society organization, Centro de Justicia y Paz (Cepaz), as one of the lead petitioners of the cases, and represented other 7 CSOs from Venezuela, including Preparafamilia, Funcamama, Transparencia Venezuela, Provea, Acción Solidaria, Cecodap, and Defiende Venezuela.
During the hearing, the organizations highlighted the severe humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, where 88% of the population relies on a public health system that has lost 80% of its capacity. Among the stressed issues, it was pointed out that in 2023, 70% of those seeking medical care did not receive it due to a lack of basic medicines, supplies, and adequate staffing in addition to the 42,000 healthcare professionals have left the country, exacerbating the crisis. Furthermore, corruption exacerbates the problematic as one of the main causes of the current situation, with no transparency in ministry reports or procurement processes since 2015.
The Clinic Research Fellow’s intervention focused on the dire conditions at Hospital J.M. de los Ríos, the largest children’s hospital in Venezuela, and Maternidad Concepción Palacios, centers that are illustrative of the broader health crisis in Venezuela, facing serious challenges of unavailability of life-saving medications, non-functional medical equipment, closed services, severe understaffing and threatening conditions for sanitary personnel and human rights defenders.
Chronic diseases addressed in the hearing included hemophilia, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, and transplant patients. Patients suffer from a lack of necessary medications, non-functional medical equipment, and inadequate care. For example, antiretrovirals for HIV patients are not regularly purchased, and cancer patients face inoperable diagnostic and treatment facilities. The inadequate healthcare infrastructure has led to increased mortality rates among these vulnerable populations.
Attorney Yamil Meneses urged the Commission to actively promote discussions about the health crisis in Venezuela, fostering international solidarity, material support, and coordination with the United Nations and its Humanitarian Coordinator operating in Caracas. Faisal emphasized the importance of continuous IACHR engagement to foster global awareness and support for Venezuela’s health crisis. The participating organizations requested the IACHR as well to issue a non-compliance resolution for the precautionary measures, recognizing their ongoing relevance, the crisis's impact, the structural problems behind the violations and the detrimental effects of the State’s noncompliance on the beneficiaries.
You can access the hearing on YouTube here.
Originally published by at ndlsglobalhumanrights.nd.edu on July 16, 2024.