Venezuelan Governmental Health Department
Venezuela
Venezuela officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea.
Venezuela possesses recognized borders with Guyana to the east of the Essequibo river, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Leeward Antilles lie just north, off the Venezuelan coast. Its size is 916,445 km² with an estimated population of 26,414,816. Its capital is Caracas. The colors of the Venezuelan flag are yellow, blue and red, in that order: the yellow stands for land wealth, the blue for courage, and the red for independence from Spain.
A former Spanish colony, which has been an independent republic since 1821, Venezuela holds territorial disputes with Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela. In 1895, after the dispute over the Essequibo river border flared up, it was submitted to a "neutral" commission (composed of United Kingdom, United States and Russian representatives and without a direct Venezuelan representative), which in 1899 decided mostly against Venezuela's claim. Venezuela is known widely for its petroleum industry, the environmental diversity of its territory, and its natural features. Venezuela is considered to be among the world's 18 most biodiverse countries, featuring diverse wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.
Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north, especially in the capital Caracas which is also the largest city. Other major cities include Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay, Barquisimeto, Merida, Barcelona-Puerto La Cruz and Ciudad Guayana.
Health Department
A health department is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their own. Health departments perform food licensing and food inspection (the person who performs this job is often called a Health Inspector), vaccination programs, free STD and AIDS tests, and other medical assistance. Health departments also compile statistics about health issues of their area. In 1986, several of the worlds' national health departments met to establish an international guideline by which health departments operate. The meeting was in Ottawa, Canada, and hence the guidelines established are known as the Ottawa Charter. The Ottawa Charter was designed to ‘achieve Health for All'.
Venevuela Health
Venezuela has a national universal health care system that is free of charge. The current government has created a program to expand access to health care known as Misión Barrio Adentro.
Infant mortality in Venezuela stood at 16 deaths per 1,000 births in 2004, lower than the South American average (by comparison, the U.S. stands at 5 deaths per 1,000 births in 2006). Child malnutrition (defined as stunting or wasting in children under age five) stands at 17%; Delta Amacuro and Amazonas have the nation's highest rates. According to the United Nations, 32% of Venezuelans lack adequate sanitation, primarily those living in rural areas. Diseases ranging from typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis D are present in the country.
In 2009, Chavez requested that the people take three minute showers because of a water shortage. Other sources point to underinvestment as an added problem.
Venezuela has a total of 150 plants for sewage treatment. However still 13% of the population lack access to drinking water but this number seems to be dropping.
Travelers to Venezuela are advised to obtain vaccinations for a variety of diseases including typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis D. In a cholera epidemic of contemporary times in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela's political leaders were accused of racial profiling of their own indigenous people to deflect blame from the country's institutions, thereby aggravating the epidemic.
The nation had one of the worst murder rates in the world, 96 homicides every 100,000 inhabitants in 2007. In 2008, the Interior Minister resigned, apparently because he had failed to change voter perceptions that crime was out of control. In 2008, polls indicated that crime was the number one concern of voters.