it is the delegation of Venezuela’s honor to represent our

country and become a part of this conference to find out the

appropriate solutions for improving healthcare affordability
worldwide. Healthcare affordability problem is always an
emergency issue in the world and Venezuela is no
exception. This has a huge negative effect on each citizen.
numerous obstacles are not resolved .Therefor, the dlgt of V
are eager to discuss about them and hopefully we could 
find out the best solution .
thank you
 The greatest threat to modern Venezuelans is malnutrition.
Hyperinflation has resulted in food shortages and
inadequate government food rationing (Stevens, 2017).
Jung (2018) reports that the average Venezuelan in poverty
from 2014 to 2018 lost 18 pounds. Additionally, the crippling
healthcare system has posed its own crisis on today’s
population.

Venezuela lacks medical equipment, including

medicine.
 This has resulted in both inflation of the price of medicine
available, and the majority of the population unable to
access their basic healthcare needs. Most patients must
resort to the black market for medical supplies, as
pharmacies and medical clinics are no longer able to stock
these resources. Stevens (2017) notes that a bottle of saline
solution used for sterilization and cleaning that would
normally cost US$1 costs US$200 on the black market in
Venezuela. While this hyperinflation of medical expenses
certainly burdens the Venezuelan population, the absolute
lack of medicine is even more troubling. Since 2014 there
have been shortages of “insulin, painkillers like aspirin,
bandages, anesthetics, surgery tools, gloves, and
antibiotics” (Jung, 2018). Additionally, in Venezuela it has
become increasingly difficult to gain access to contraception
(Albaladejo, 2018). Raphelson (2018) estimated a 90
percent deficit of medicine available in 2018, and this figure
has likely only increased in the last year. This shortage
affects the entire Venezuelan population, not just the poor.
The death in 2018 of Marcos Carvajal, a former professional
baseball player, to pneumonia due to a lack of antibiotics
illuminated this reality (Raphelson, 2018). Additionally, Feo
Istúriz (2017) highlights how often the medicines individuals
pursue and may obtain are not actually the needed
intervention. The lack of access to medical supplies poses
an ever-increasing threat to the entire country. However, it is
hardly the only crisis the Venezuelan healthcare system is
facing. 
In a state where hunger and oppression prevail, hospitals
must work overtime to cope with the increased incidence of
poor health. However, Venezuela’s hospitals and
other medical facilities are constantly
understaffed and underfunded. Throughout the crisis,
Maduro’s government has increasingly neglected healthcare
costs. While in 2010 almost 10 percent of the national
budget was allocated to healthcare, this figure had dropped
to 5.8 percent by 2014. This dip in finances in many ways
precipitated the healthcare crisis Venezuela witnesses
today. While government funding dropped, Venezuelan
dependence on the public health sector rather than private
healthcare increased (Carrillo Roa, 2018). 

Beyond the lack of funding, Venezuelan hospitals are

in desperate need of medical professionals. In just
four years the country lost 13,000 doctors to immigration
(Raphelson, 2018). One interviewed physician claimed
that 70 percent of the individuals she had studied with
had left the country to practice elsewhere, and explained
how it can be impossible to find a specialist doctor for
her patients (Phillips, 2019). Many hospitals in
Venezuela are also lacking food and clean running
water for their patients. All of these measures indicate a
dire crisis in terms of healthcare availability for
Venezuelan patients,