La sanidad en Venezuela

Abstract

As a first step towards making a career of sanitary work, the Health Department of Venezuela has been stressing proper training of health workers. During 1944, the first course at the Malariology School and the second course for sanitarians were successfully carried out with physicians and engineers from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela participating. Monthly courses of one week duration were also given for rural physicians, the subject in 1944 being Chagas' disease. Several graduates of the National School for Nurses were sent abroad for additional training and special training was also given to auxiliary personnel in venereal disease control, laboratory and milk sanitation. T raining of inspectors for hookworm work was started and two rural medical posts were raised to health units. Mother and child welfare services took great steps forward and 18,849 expectant mothers and 30,3501 children were supervised, about 550,000 liters of fresh milk and 25,500 cans of powdered milk distributed. The number of hospital beds for mothers was increased to 1,263. Infant mortality rate for 1944 was 40.7 as compared to 137.9 for 1941 in Caracas. There are at present 12 dining rooms for school children which are supervised by the health department. The number of physicians practicing in rural districts is at present 184, 75 per cent of which are with the public health service. The sanitary ...(AU)