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title: ""Venezuela is a middle-income country with a previously strong…"
date: 2019-04-05
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
---

# "Venezuela is a middle-income country with a previously strong…

*April 5, 2019 · Facebook*

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[https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/05/709969632/researchers-are-surprised-by-the-magnitude-of-venezuelas-health-crisis](https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/05/709969632/researchers-are-surprised-by-the-magnitude-of-venezuelas-health-crisis){target="_blank"}
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\"Venezuela is a middle-income country with a previously strong infrastructure, Spiegel says. \"So just to see this incredible decline in the health infrastructure in such a short period of time is quite astonishing.\"\
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Despite the severity of the health crisis, the government continues to paint a rosy picture of its health care system --- and to retaliate against anyone who reports otherwise, according to the report.\
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Dr. Alberto Paniz Mondolfi, who was not affiliated with the report, spoke with NPR about the situation in his home country. Paniz practices in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and is a member of the Venezuelan National Academy of Medicine.\
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Paniz says he has seen children in hospitals who appear to be malnourished --- and there aren\'t even catheters available to hook them up to IVs. He has seen people on the streets searching the trash for food to eat. And he adds that a blackout that began on March 7 and lasted for a week has had lingering impact: Some areas still lack electricity or access to running water even now, he says.\"\
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[https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/05/709969632/researchers-are-surprised-by-the-magnitude-of-venezuelas-health-crisis](https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/05/709969632/researchers-are-surprised-by-the-magnitude-of-venezuelas-health-crisis){target="_blank"}
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