Overcrowding, lack of clean water among biggest health risks from Venezuela quakes says PAHO

The Pan American Health Organization is working to mitigate health risks in Venezuela following devastating earthquakes, focusing on medical care, shelter conditions, and vaccine access.

The ​biggest risks ‌to residents' health ​following devastating twin earthquakes that ripped across Venezuela's ‌northern coast last month include interruptions to regular medical care, overcrowding in shelters and ‌lack of access to clean water, Jarbas Barbosa, ‌the director of the Pan American Health Organization, said on Thursday.

The organization is working closely ⁠with ​Venezuela's ⁠health ministry to trace any outbreaks of respiratory or ⁠digestive illnesses, especially in shelters set up for ​those who lost their homes, other PAHO ⁠officials added in a call with journalists. However, the ⁠country ​must guarantee access to vaccines, Barbosa added, especially as vaccination rates in ⁠Venezuela were lower than needed prior to the disaster ⁠and ⁠the country's health system was already suffering sustained problems because of ‌its economic ‌crisis.