Public health emergency looms as Venezuela's health system struggles after twin earthquakes

Caracas, Venezuela, July 7, 2026 — A public health emergency is unfolding in Venezuela as already overstretched health systems struggle to meet heightened need following twin earthquakes, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is warning. An IRC-led assessment in the affected areas found that 20 health facilities are facing severe shortages of vital medical supplies. The assessment also found that there are only 1,038 healthcare workers serving a total population of over 1.7 million people–about one healthcare worker for every 1700 people. Venezuela's health system was already short of equipment, medications, and reliable power before the earthquakes, leaving little capacity to both provide emergency first aid to the over 16,000 injured and meet the ongoing needs of vulnerable communities. IRC’s Emergency Response Lead for the Venezuela Earthquakes, Rafael Velasquez Garcia, said: “The second phase of this crisis is just beginning. What started as a devastating natural disaster is quickly ballooning into a public health emergency. Rising displacement, failing health infrastructure, and waterborne and respiratory diseases threaten to push thousands of more people into humanitarian need when the capacity to respond is at its lowest. Even with sustained international support it will take many months for health systems to recover.” Air quality in rubble zones has severely deteriorated due to concrete dust and unrecovered remains. Combined with disrupted water and sanitation systems, the IRC is deeply concerned about the high risk of the rapid spread of waterborne and airborne diseases–a risk that will only intensify as the initial rescue phase winds down and international attention wanes. Thirty-eight hospitals were damaged by the earthquakes. The main referral hospital in La Guaira, the hardest hit city, exceeded capacity within one day, and resources continue to run dangerously low even as aid arrives. As hospitals focus on treating survivors, mobile health teams have reported a surge in people seeking non-emergency health and prenatal care. Even those who weren’t directly affected by the earthquakes are now being impacted as medical care becomes increasingly difficult to access. As search and rescue teams begin to wind down, the crisis is not subsiding, it is just becoming less visible. Teams report families moving between parks throughout the day, making it difficult to locate patients and continue their care. Families who have lost their homes are relocating to urban centers, where they’ll be harder to reach, but their needs will remain just as urgent. The IRC is prioritizing health services both in stationary centers and mobile units to meet people where they are, focusing on displaced people, the elderly, those with mobility issues, and children who may not be able to get themselves to health facilities. In addition, the IRC is supporting the reactivation of the Bacteriology Laboratory of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (IMT) of the Central University of Venezuela to help mitigate the rise in respiratory and water-borne diseases as well as procuring and distributing hundreds of standard hygiene kits and water purification kits.