Caracas, Apr 4 (EFE).- A dozen or so Venezuelan children suffering from cancer on Wednesday staged a protest in front of the JM de los Rios Children’s Hospital in Caracas to denounce the scarcity of medicines and the lack of medical care available at the public health facility, which is one of the country’s key institutions for child care.
The children, wearing hospital masks, went out on the street in front of the hospital with their relatives to protest and talk to reporters as they displayed signs with messages such as “Cancer doesn’t wait. Urgent.”
A girl no older than 10 who did not identify herself said that the disease “is not waiting” and asked the Nicolas Maduro government to find speedy solutions to the dilemma faced by people in her position.
“I want solutions. I don’t mean within one day or two days. No. I want things to be immediate, because when somebody dies they don’t say ‘you’re going to come back to life,’ she said with tears in her eyes.
The family members of the patients said that in recent months surgeries, chemotherapy sessions and tests had been postponed at JM de los Rios due to the lack of materials in the wards and operating theaters.
“We need water in the hematology service and there’s a lack of chemo,” read another sign held up by the patients.
The protesters also complained that the scarcity of antibiotics and the lack of care had resulted in patients becoming sick with other illnesses while inside the hospital.
Health organizations and political parties have warned about the existence of a “humanitarian crisis” in the oil-producing nation due to the deterioration of its health centers and the scarcity of medications.
The Venezuelan government denies that claim and has rejected the aid offered by various countries and organizations via the opening of a so-called “humanitarian channel.”
The protest comes along with others staged by people suffering from assorted ailments so far this year demanding medicines and medical procedures that have not been provided to them.