The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – Part 3

Accessibility
Since 2009, the Bolivarian government has pushed for public spaces to accommodate people with disabilities. Many education programs such as the music teaching program “El Sistema” now print their materials in Braille (Pearson, 2011). Another outreach program Misión Milagro provides free eye exams and consultations to combat the cataract and pterygium problem that disproportionately targets poor people in sunny climates (Otis, 2007).

Assistive technology has come to the forefront of providing healthcare for Venezuelans. Researchers at Simon Bolivar University are encouraging the transfer of technical knowledge from places like Cuba and China to reduce the need for imports of AT (Bravo & Salazar, 2018). They have started the Center for Assistive Technologies in Simon Bolivar University (CETA-USB) and have since worked with the Venezuelan Blind-Deaf Society and the National Rehabilitation Center “J.J. Arvelo” to develop communication devices as well as occupational and language therapy devices and training programs (Bravo & Salazar, 2018).

Outside of the CETA, many state-owned companies are also developing alternative technologies for people with disabilities; for example, Vtelca, a company that makes mobile phones for the poor, manufactures phones with Braille and large characters for people with vision difficulties (Pearson, 2011).

Figure 1. Late President Hugo Chavez with a Vtelca phone developed for people with vision impairments (Pearson, 2011)

The 1990 Caracas Declaration established mental health reforms that decentered institutionalization and psychiatric hospitals as primary methods of care because of their ineffectiveness and cost; across Latin America, treatment providers instead agreed to focus on community-based and preventative measures (Caldas de Almeida & Cohen, 2008).

Before 1999, healthcare simply did not exist for impoverished people in Venezuela. As Jose Rodriguez, the founder of FUSPD (Frente Unido Socialista de Personas con Discapacidad) put it, “Before this government, people with disabilities were literally left out on the streets to die” (Mcgill, 2010). He added that if someone had money, they could afford institutionalization, but if not, many doctors would simply refuse to treat them (Mcgill, 2010).

Now, healthcare is generally free with rehabilitation services in places such as the Centro de Atencion Integral a Personas con Discapacidad” (Center of Integral Attention for People with Disabilities)” that offer programs spanning for several months. These programs encourage education and participation in sports for their clientele (Mcgill, 2010).

Healthcare
Since the establishment of the Barrio Adentro program, healthcare has improved for millions of Venezuelans in poverty (Mcgill, 2010). With the help of Cuban doctors, much of the impoverished Venezuelan population can receive free healthcare service (Cooper, 2017). Most nonprofits and healthcare expansion services established in Venezuela are also part of outreach services by the Bolivarian government to help the poor (Muntaner, Salazar, Benach, & Armada, 2010).

Figure 2. Venezuelan citizens waiting for free eye exams (Cooper, 2017)

Resources

National

• Barrio Adentro, archive.is access | Contact
  Ministry of People’s Power for Health
  Simón Bolívar Center, South Building, 3rd floor, office. 325.
  El Silencio, Caracas
  Phone: 0212-4080663
  Description: Barrio Adentro was established by President Hugo Chavez in order to provide healthcare and other services to impoverished people around the country. The mission works with Cuban doctors and is praised by the Latin American branch of the World Health Organization.
• Venezuelan Federation of Psychologists | Contact
  Av Naiguata con Av La Guaira
  Urbanizacion Macaracuay
  Caracas
  Phone: 0212-2564277
  Description: The Venezuelan Federation of Psychologists is a mental health organization in Venezuela associated with the APA. They certify psychologists and establish mental health laws in the country.
• Che Guevara Mission, more info | Contact
  Ministry of Popular Power for the Social Work Process (MPPPST)
  South Building of the Simon Bolivar Center, Floors 4 and 5.
  Plaza Caracas, El Silencio. Caracas
  Phone: (0212) 408.42.29
  Description: Misión Che Guevara was established by the Ministry of Popular Power for the Social Work Process in 2007 as a vocational training program for people with disabilities. They serve mainly underprivileged communities in rural areas and train participants in technical skills, politics, and organizing, providing a well-rounded education (“Food and Nutrition Security Platform,” n.d.).
• Great Knowledge and Work Mission | Contact
  Ministry of Popular Power for the Social Work Process (MPPPST)
  South Building of the Simon Bolivar Center, Floors 4 and 5.
  Plaza Caracas, El Silencio. Caracas
  Phone: (0212) 408.42.29
  Description: The Gran Misión Saber y Trabajo aims to help people who are unemployed gain work for the government and country. This project provides vocational training and education and encourages participants to work on group projects that focus on transportation, farming, and medical care.

Regional

• Misión Milagro | Contact, or Dr. José Spain at the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Caracas
  Miracle Mission Foundation
  Av. Urdaneta, Carmelitas Corner
  Vice Presidential Building of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 1st Floor
  Phone: (0212) 606-71-97
  Description: Misión Milagro (Miracle) is a Venezuelan project in collaboration with Cuba to provide free eye operations to people in need. This is an outreach program from the Barrio Adentro program to increase healthcare coverage across Venezuela.
• Bolivarian Government of Venezuela Disability Pension, archive.org access | Contact
  Central Park, Caroata Building, Bolivar Level, Central Park
  Dtto. Capital. Caracas
  Phone: 0212-5773154
  Description: The Bolivarian Government ensures that people with disabilities receive pensions. They provide information on the necessary documents required for people applying for disability pensions from the government
• Misión Sonrisa | Contact
  Military Hospital “Dr. Carlos Arvelo”
  Av. José Angel Lamas San Martin
  Caracas 1020, Capital District
  Phone: +58 424-2197220
  Description: Misión Sonrisa (Smile) provides free dental service to people across Venezuela. This includes x-rays, check-ups, extractions, and surgeries. The hospitals that provide this service vary by region.
• Universidad de Zulia | Contact
  Calle 65 Av. 20 Sector Ziruma.
  Science and Health Building PB
  Phone: +58 (261) 4127641
  Description: The University of Zulia is one of the hospitals in Venezuela that offers hospital and mental health services for its students.

Local

• Misión Hipólita Negra, more info | Contact
  City/District: Caracas, Capital District
  Avenida Universidad, Esq. de Traposos, Antigua sede de Sudeban.
  Caracas. Distrito Capital
  Phone: (0212) 5422244
  Description: The Misión Hipólita Negra was developed in 2009 by President Hugo Chavez as a rehabilitation program for people recovering from addiction. The program aims to help people who are in extreme poverty or have additional physical or psychological disabilities.
• Colegio Internacional de Caracas | Contact
  City/District: Caracas, Capital District
  Colegio Internacional de Caracas Calle Colegio, entre Los Samanes y Las Minas de Baruta
  Caracas 1080
  Phone: +58 (212) 945-0444
  Description: The Colegio Internacional de Caracas offers a program for early childhood education that centers social, emotional, and psychosomatic activities.
• Escuela Campo Alegre | Contact
  City/District: Caracas, Capital District
  Escuela Campo Alegre
  Final Calle La Cinta, Las Mercedes | Caracas
  Phone: +58 212 993 3922
  Description: The Escuela Campo Alegre provides counseling services for adolescents preparing to enter college. It also centers education and historical and cultural development and college/career readiness.
• United Socialist Front of People with Disabilities | Contact
  City/District: Valencia, Carabobo State
  Guajira Club (el Club la Guajira)
  Calle Paez & Calle Laurencio Silva
  Guacara 2015, Carabobo
  Phone: (0416) 243-69-14
  Description: The FUSPD (Frente Unido Socialista de Personas con Discapacidad) was established in 2009 by president Jose Rodriguez in Valencia but has since expanded into a national organization. Their mission is to integrate people with disabilities into community and family life.

References
Bravo, R., & Salazar, A. (2018). A technology transfer model focused on assistive technology: Center of Assistive Technology—CETA, a Venezuelan alternative. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228863013_A_Technology_Transfer_Model_Focused_on_Assistive_Technology_Center_of_Assistive_Technology-CETA_a_Venezuelan_Alternative

Caldas de Almeida, J. M., & Cohen, A. (Eds.). (2008). Innovative mental health programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization.

Cooper, A. (2017, April 17). Moving medicine inside the neighborhood: Healthcare and sociospatial transformation in Caracas, Venezuela. Medicine Anthropology Theory. doi:10.17157/mat.4.1.368

Food and Nutrition Security Platform. (n.d.) Ché Guevara Mission. Retrieved from https://plataformacelac.org/en/programa/902

Mcgill, S. (2010, May 10). The history and mission of the United Socialist Front of People with Disabilities. Venezuelanalysis. Retrieved from https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5372

Misión Negra Hipólita, 10 años sirviendo a los más necesitados. (2016, January 14). teleSUR. Retrieved from https://www.telesurtv.net/news/Mision-Negra-Hipolita-10-anos-sirviendo-a-los-mas-necesitados-20160114-0001.html

Muntaner, C., Salazar, R.M., Benach, J., & Armada, F. (2006). Venezuela’s Barrio Adentro: an alternative to neoliberalism in health care. International Journal of Health Services, 36(4). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17175847

Otis, J. (2007, June 17). Chavez aims to win hearts and minds with free eye care. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Chavez-aims-to-win-hearts-and-minds-with-free-eye-1842617.php

Pearson, T. (2011, January 25). Venezuelan State to produce affordable mobile phones for the blind. Venezuelanalysis. Retrieved from https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5960

Slipp, M. C. (2006). Art therapy in Venezuela: A developing field in the developing world (Dissertation). Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.