Cuba Lends a Helping Hand to Venezuela’s Healthcare Industry

Wednesday 6 February 2013, Amsterdam

Despite a healthy-sized population, Venezuela depends on foreign labor within its healthcare industry, states a new report by healthcare experts GlobalData.

The new report explains the pact between Venezuela and Cuba, which enables both countries to benefit, representing a rising trend in collaborations between emerging countries in contrast to former reliance on developed nations.

The lack of skilled personnel in Venezuela’s healthcare sector has compelled the government to look to foreign workers to meet its needs. Consequently, support is being provided by the Cuban government in the form of medical professionals. The Venezuelan government encourages the immigration of skilled workers, with laws prioritising visas for workers in specified professions. However, Cuba actively sends doctors to Venezuela, in exchange for 90,000 barrels of oil per day at a subsidized price. Furthermore, Venezuelan patients are able to travel to Cuba to benefit from specialist healthcare facilities – a recent  notable example being the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s recent visits to receive cancer treatment.

Venezuelan healthcare facilities are limited, and the number of specialist facilities is very low. The government provides easy access to hospitals through the Mission Barrio Adentro I program, which makes primary care centers available in rural and urban areas, and provides drugs at heavily discounted prices under the National Pharmacy Network program of Farmapatria. However, the Venezuelan population still faces a lack of universal healthcare coverage, as drug shortages in public pharmacies force patients to visit private pharmacies, and pay nearly 50% more than the normal price.

In addition, the Venezuelan medical market depends heavily on imports, with the US being the major supplier for medical devices although Cuba, Mexico and Brazil have begun to take some of this trade. This shows a gradual shift from a reliance on developed nations to a co-development of emerging countries. Some self-sufficiency is also emerging, with disposable healthcare items such as syringes, surgical cloths and hospital furniture being manufactured domestically in Venezuela. In December 2011, the government initiated measures to begin production in three government drug manufacturing plants by May 2012, to provide medicines to the population. However, the facilities, which are to be located in Carabobo, Anzoategui, and Miranda are yet to be completed. The country’s reletionship with Cuba is expected to enable Venezuela produce drugs for heart disease, HIV, and several skin conditions within the next few years.

Despite political stability in recent years, Venezuela’s overwhelmingly oil-based economy is vulnerable, which could potentially threaten the country’s valuable relationship with Cuba. The growing local elderly population and associated disease burden will force Venezuelan policy-makers to allocate more resources to geriatric healthcare in the future. In adiition, their promise of universal healthcare coverage should ideally be met in the coming years by staff and supplies produced without the help of others.