Access to education, health and social services for the general population and for refugees [VEN33383.E]

Please find attached some documents that describe the education, health and social services of Venezuela, as well as the situation of refugees in that country. These add to VEN21734.E of 15 September 1995.

Please note that the 1999 report on refugees in Venezuela refers to the small number of officially recognized refugees; it also refers to a large number of people who "might qualify as refugees" or are considered to be "in refugee-like circumstances," one of their main problems being a "lack of migratory documentation to remain legally in the country" which presents a difficulty for travelling to Caracas, where they could apply for refugee status (USCR 1999).

General references to the health and education services in Venezuela mention a recent decline after attempts to counter the decline which took place in the 1980s. For example, a 26 January 1998 IPS report states:

Since 1989, two macroeconomic adjustments were launched to revert this tendency. Support for schools, health care and in smaller part, public housing, grew precipitously, as did the investment in basic services. But the bulk of these programs collapsed due to inadequate resources coupled with excessive bureaucracy and spending. The general well-being of the population improved until the end of the end of the 1970's. Since then, social conditions began to slide (ibid.).

Since President Hugo Chavez took office in 1999, the military have been called upon to assist in providing and expanding social services. One source, for example, reports from Caracas:

...a team of military doctors was running a medical clinic, delivering pediatric, gynecological and dental care to residents of a slum neighbourhood too poor to afford medical care. Out in the countryside, meanwhile, other units of Venezuela's 120,000-strong military were building or repairing roads, sewers, schools and hospitals (International Herald Tribune 15 Apr. 1999).

Please find attached an excerpt from a current and most comprehensive overview of the health system of Venezuela found among the sources consulted, published in 1999 by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). The three sections of the excerpt, "National Health Plans and Policies," "Organization of the Health Sector" and "Health Services and Resources," provide descriptions and statistics on plans, quality and availability of different health services throughout the country, including access to drugs and concentration of hospitals and beds.

The PAHO report states that "the health sector is made up of the public, private, and social security sectors" (1999). Referring to the disabled or handicapped, the report states that "coverage of care for the disabled is estimated at 1%-2%," adding that "social welfare benefits are limited to the population covered by the social security system; the rest of the disabled depend on non-governmental organizations and some official entities" (ibid.). In a section of the report that discusses the health of Venezuela's population (not attached to this Response), PAHO states that "about 10 percent of the population is estimated to have some type of disability," a percentage "believed to be increasing due to the aging of the population, accidents, and degenerative diseases" (ibid.).

The attached 1996 World Bank report, "Addressing Basic Health and Education Needs in Venezuela," describes the limitations of educational services and work on the expansion of pre-school and community day care programs, in addition to other health and educational services.

For general information on the health and education system in Venezuela until the beginning of the 1990s, please refer to Venezuela: A Country Study, "Health and Social Security," at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/vetoc.html. In the second chapter of that section, the report provides the following information on welfare and social assistance in the early 1990s:

In addition to providing public health care, the IVSS [Social Security Institute of Venezuela] also administered the country's public welfare program. Launched in 1966, the IVSS provided old-age and survivor pensions. In addition, it sponsored maternity care and medical care for illness, accidents, and occupational diseases for workers in both the public and private sectors. Participation in the program was mandatory for all wage earners with the exception of temporary and seasonal or part-time workers, the self-employed, and members of the armed forces (who were covered under a separate system). The availability of benefits has been extended progressively to all regions of the country so that even farm workers and farmers associated with the agrarian reform program were eligible.
Private charitable and social welfare organizations, which were exempt from the income tax, played an important role in supporting and maintaining charity hospitals and organizations, assisting persons of limited income, and funding scholarships. Among the most active of these organizations was the Voluntary Dividend for the Community, founded in 1964 and supported by contributions from the business community. It subsidized welfare programs, private education, and community development projects. In this instance, as in others, Venezuela benefited from the efforts of community-minded leaders of the private sector, who bolstered government programs and provided further assistance for those in greatest need (1993).

A more recent document cites statistics disclosed by Venezuela's Community Learning Centres (CECODAP) in its 1998 annual report, which state that "only 68 out of every 100 eligible children enter first grate3/432 percent of children don't start school" (Vheadline 23 Nov. 1998). The source adds that "only 71 out of 100 who enter primary school finish sixth grade, 41 finish ninth and 38 manage to complete high school" and adds that, according to a survey, many Venezuelan children do not have a birth certificate "and are therefore, according to the law, illegal aliens" (ibid).

No details on access to public services for illegal aliens could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


International Herald Tribune [Neuilly-sur-Seine, France]. 15 April 1999. Larry Rohter. "Venezuelan Army's New Role Raises Some Eyebrows." (NEXIS)

Inter Press Service (IPS). 26 January 1998. Jose Zambrano. "Venezuela: After 40 Years of Democracy, Venezuelans Want Change." (NEXIS)

Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Washington, DC. 1999. Basic Country Health Profiles for the Americas: Venezuela. http://www.paho.org/english/sha/ prflven.html [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]

United States Committee for Refugees (USCR), Washington, DC. 1999. Worldwide Refugee Information Country Report: Venezuela. http://www.refugees.org/ world/countryrpt/amer_carib/venezuela.htm [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]

United States Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 1993. Venezuela: A Country Study. "Social Welfare". http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/vetoc.html [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]

Vheadline [Caracas]. 23 November 1998. Patrick J. O'Donoghue. "Alarm Report Claims Almost 2,000 Children Missing in Venezuela." http://www.vheadline.com/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 1998]

The World Bank Group, Washington, DC. 1996. Early Child Development: Investing in the Future. http://www.worldbank.org/children/ecd/book/7.htm [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]

Attachments


Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Washington, DC. 1999. Basic Country Health Profiles for the Americas: Venezuela. http://www.paho.org/english/sha/ prflven.html [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]

United States Committee for Refugees (USCR), Washington, DC. 1999. Worldwide Refugee Information Country Report: Venezuela. http://www.refugees.org/ world/countryrpt/amer_carib/venezuela.htm [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]

The World Bank Group, Washington, DC. 1996. Early Child Development: Investing in the Future. http://www.worldbank.org/children/ecd/book/7.htm [Accessed 21 Dec. 1999]