Agence France-Presse: Malaria surges back in crisis-hit Venezuela
“…[M]alaria is rapidly making its presence felt [in rural border towns] as in the rest of Venezuela — a country that could once boast of being the first to have eradicated the disease in 1961. … Added to this is the malnutrition that weakens resistance to the disease, a new phenomenon since the economic crisis took hold at the end of 2015. … Between 2016 and 2017 alone, the number of malaria cases in the nation jumped 70 percent…” (7/7).

Al Jazeera: Colombian hospitals overwhelmed with Venezuelans
“Hospitals in Colombia say they can’t cope with the growing number of undocumented Venezuelans seeking medical attention as they flee their crumbling health system. Migrants concentrate in border towns, which are sometimes among the poorest in the country. Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti reports from Maicao in northern Colombia…” (Rampietti, 7/4).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: As Venezuela’s health care collapses, pregnant women, girls bear brunt of crisis
“In Caracas’s main maternity hospital the blood banks and medicine cabinets are empty, the power and water regularly cut out — and women and girls are dying needlessly, according to one of the few remaining doctors, Luisangela Correa. … Correa, the U.N., and women’s rights groups all said unsanitary hospital conditions along with food and medical shortages had led to a rise in maternal mortality rates…” (Moloney, 7/8).

Xinhua News: Venezuela, UNICEF ink deal to improve access to drinking water
“The Venezuelan government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) [July 3] signed an agreement to improve access to drinking water in the South American country. The agreement was signed by Evelyn Vasquez, minister for water care, and Herve Ludovic, UNICEF’s representative in Venezuela…” (7/4).