Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

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Latin America and the Caribbean

4.6%CHE/GDP

24.9%OOP/CHE

6%GGHE-D/GGE

129BGDP (USD)

28.2MPopulation

The 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela recognizes health as a fundamental social right and establishes the state’s obligation to guarantee access in articles 83, 84, and 85. This was a notable departure from the previous constitution of 1961, where article 76 states that the state was tasked only with preventive measures and assistance to the vulnerable. Furthermore, the 1999 constitution establishes the state’s obligation to provide sufficient funding to meet health policy objectives.

Health financing and data

In 2020, public spending on health was 1.68% of the gross national product, below the 6% recommended by the Pan American Health Organization. In 2021, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure was of current health expenditure (CHE), and domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) was 5.5% of general government expenditure. Data from 2021 show GGHE-D at 33.5% of CHE.^[1]

The health financing system remains diverse, including contributions from the general national budget, special resources (like petrol earnings), social security contributions from workers and employers and special funds for the armed forces and education sectors [].

Challenges to the Bolivarian vision

Despite the intention of article 84 of the 1999 Constitution, the health system remains segmented.^[3] The 1999 constitution created a national public health system (Sistema Público Nacional de Salud) in an effort to bring together the different health sector providers under the leadership of the ministry of health. The intention was to overcome inequities in availability, access, coverage and quality of health care. However, a segment of the population continues to rely on the private sector in an environment of ongoing embargo and migration, which have led to difficulties in procuring supplies and maintaining sufficient staff across health system providers.

References

[1] World Health Organization, Global Health Expenditure Database, Health Expenditure Profile (choose country)

[2] Carillo Roa A, Sistema de salud en Venezuela: ¿un paciente sin remedio?, 2018

[3] Codevida, El Derecho a la Salud en Venezuela, 2015