GBRV LAUNCHES "BABY JESUS" MISSION AS INFANT MORTALITY RISES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000073 SIPDIS HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD TREASURY FOR MKACZMAREK NSC FOR DRESTREPO NSC FOR LROSSELLO USDOC FOR 4332 MAC/ITA/WH/JLAO AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/25 TAGS: ECON PGOV ECIN KCOR VE SUBJECT: GBRV LAUNCHES "BABY JESUS" MISSION AS INFANT MORTALITY RISES REF: 09 CARACAS 1374; 09 CARACAS 1551 CLASSIFIED BY: DUDDY, AMBASSADOR, DOS, AMB; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 29, in an effort to halt rising infant and maternal mortality, President Chavez launched the "Baby Jesus" Mission during his weekly "Hello President" radio and television broadcast. The program includes a proposed initial investment of over USD 124 million to build housing for pregnant women and refurbish public hospitals and clinics. Critics argue that the mission is poorly designed and that widespread corruption and mismanagement in the public health care system will dilute the effectiveness of any infusion of cash. The dramatic increase in infant and maternal mortality has received extensive media coverage and contributed to outrage over the failures of the Venezuelan government's health policy. END SUMMARY. REDUCING INFANT MORTALITY, REVITALIZING BARRIO ADENTRO ¶2. (C) According to press reports by government-run media, the Baby Jesus Mission is part of an ongoing campaign to revitalize Barrio Adentro-the Venezuelan Government's (GBRV) flagship medical services program-and reduce infant and maternal mortality by providing prenatal care for pregnant women and increasing the capacity of public hospitals and clinics. (NOTE: For an analysis of Barrio Adentro see 09 Caracas 1374. END NOTE.) In a televised announcement from Miraflores Palace on December 23, a group of Cuban pediatricians watched as Chavez approved an initial investment of 324 million bolivars (approximately USD 124.6 million at the official exchange rate of 2.6 bolivars to the USD) to build housing for pregnant women and repair facilities in ten hospitals and 50 rural clinics nationwide. "A pregnant woman is something sacred. She can't be walking around in labor, not knowing where she's going to give birth," Chavez said. ¶3. (C) On January 12, Beatriz Cruz (protect throughout),a health reporter for El Universal, told EconOff that infant and maternal mortality have increased due to insufficient prenatal �0A;care, unidentified high-risk pregnancies, and a high rate of premature births. Maternal mortality has jumped by 27 percent from December 2008 to December 2009 and infant mortality has risen by 1.8 percent from 2008 to 2009, after a gradual decline over the previous ten years, according to a report by the Venezuelan Network of Scientific Medical Societies. The media has widely publicized the deaths of pregnant mothers and babies, contributing to popular outrage over the inadequacies of Venezuela's medical care, especially since the majority of the deaths are preventable if pregnant women visit hospitals for basic checkups or take other precautionary measures. But the availability and quality of prenatal care in public hospitals has diminished-some maternity wards have been abandoned for years-and Barrio Adentro has failed to provide adequate care for the most vulnerable pregnant women. Ten years after a catastrophic landslide destroyed the medical infrastructure in Vargas, a state near Caracas, many of the public hospitals have still not been rebuilt. (NOTE: For an analysis of the deterioration of Venezuela's traditional medical system see 09 Caracas 1551. END NOTE.) ¶4. (C) Cruz said that the GBRV does not have a clear plan for implementing the Baby Jesus Mission: the hospital directors that she interviewed had not received any information from the Health Ministry and did not know any details about the program. She doubted that an infusion of cash would significantly reduce maternal or infant mortality given the corruption and mismanagement that pervades the public hospital system. According to Cruz, one public hospital has contracted four separate construction companies to remodel the same emergency room, with each company tearing up the previous contractor's work and starting over; another hospital has hired 22 different contractors to remodel its facilities. CARACAS 00000073 002 OF 002 Although a shortage of qualified pediatricians and medical specialists is one of the principal causes of infant and maternal mortality, the Baby Jesus Mission does not allocate funding for additional staff. "Ultimately, the program has a political objective. We are in an election year," she said. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: The well-publicized rise in infant and maternal mortality has contributed to popular outrage over the failures of the GBRV's health policy. Perhaps in recognition of the political costs of this development in advance of legislative elections scheduled for September 2010, the GBRV has touted a typically Bolivarian solution to the problem: a new social program backed by millions of dollars of investment. But in the view of many medical experts in Venezuela, including five former health ministers who have been increasingly and publicly critical of Chavez's health policies, widespread corruption and mismanagement have enervated Venezuela's public health care system and are likely to dilute the effectiveness of any infusion of cash. END COMMENT. CAULFIELD