Venezuela: UNICEF strengthens oxygen system to help save lives at a hospital in Caracas

The child arrived with pneumonia at the hospital, we came from Guatire, where it was not possible to stabilize the situation of my baby, but here we were able to get the provision of the service; without that, my child would not be alive", says Heidibe Arias, mother of one of the patients who has received oxygen treatment and who has been in the hospital facilities for more than 6 days. "My child has made progress with treatment, this service has worked not only for me and my baby but for all the children who have been here," she says.

With this contribution from UNICEF, more than 2,200 patients each year will benefit from the use of the oxygen therapy service in the Maternal and Child Hospital, so this rehabilitation increases the scope of hospital care in this institution and decreases the number of patients who are referred to other health centers.

"The improvement of this service has optimized the work," says Marisel Diaz Gonzalez, sub-director of the hospital, who has served various positions in the institution for more than 20 years. She explains that at least 2,200 children are admitted to the emergency room as pediatric cases with severe respiratory problems each year and that previously they did not have the equipment and material to be able to solve these cases.

"Before UNICEF's intervention, only 3 or 4 oxygen intakes worked and that did not allow us to provide the desired support to the families that required it," says José Gregorio Manzanilla, who holds the position of Administrator of the hospital and was part of the team that supported the rehabilitation of the 92 total oxygen intakes that are in proper functioning within the hospital facilities.

The optimal conditioning of the spaces of the oxygen therapy rooms, as well as the oxygen intakes and ducts, is essential for the correct service of the hospital. In the Materno Infantil del Este, 300 deliveries and more than 70 cesarean sections are attended per month. In addition to the delivery rooms, this strengthening in the facilities of ducts and oxygen intakes also favors the pediatric hospitalization rooms 1 and 2, recovery room, retention area, surgical area, pediatric emergencies, obstetrics hospitalizations 1 and 2, and delivery rooms.

"Oxygen support is life-saving life support. Having rehabilitated this space means more lives saved and in turn the improvement of the quality of life. More children with a better chance of life and less disability," says UNICEF Health Officer Sergia Cubillán.

UNICEF not only contributes to the strengthening and restoration of oxygen intakes but also to obstetric care services, providing guarantees to the prenatal care process, including the delivery of supplies for the time of birth and supporting the neonatal care area for those cases with prematurity problems. This support is given to popular clinics that are within the Community Care Network that works around the hospital, within the framework of the Maternal Route, in conjunction with the Ministry for Popular Power for Health.

In 2022, UNICEF evaluated 17 hospitals throughout the national territory to support the oxygen therapy service. Six centers have already been rehabilitated. This effort to strengthen the health system seeks to serve more than 26,000 patients annually, thus ensuring the right to an optimal health system for every child and adolescent.