Barrio Adentro: Three Years of Evolution

Mission Barrio Adentro (health care program based on local neighborhood clinics for primary medical care) emerges from the oil surplus in order to "give back the oil (turned into health) to the Venezuelan people. Several institutions are involved in the missions."


Venezuelan Vice-minister of Health Networks, Carlos Alvarado, asserted that there have been significant advances in the health sector since Mission Barrio Adentro started. "This Mission has clearly made the Venezuelan health system evolve in order to provide the population with good-quality, integrated, efficient and free health care."

He reminded that this Mission was established after the Vargas state tragedy with the support of Cuban doctors working in the barrios of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

This Mission expanded rapidly to include Miranda state and the rest of Venezuela by December 2003.

Barrio Adentro (health care program based on local neighborhood clinics for primary medical care) emerges from the oil surplus in order to "give back the oil (turned into health) to the Venezuelan people. Several institutions are involved in the missions; thus avoiding the bureaucratization of the missions", said Carlos Alvarado.

Alvarado assures that Barrio Adentro’s objectives go beyond the construction of popular, iconic two-storey medical clinics. "It is about changing the life conditions of the population; it is about understanding that health means life quality; it is about making people aware of a social right and understanding that health depends on the citizens’ participation in the promotion and prevention."

Likewise, he pointed out that before this Mission started the health sector had 1,500 doctors in the first medical care stage, 4,400 clinics, 800 dentists, 4,400 nurses and optician's. Three years later, the Venezuelan health system has 15,411 Cuban doctors in Barrio Adentro 1st and 2nd phase, more than 2,000 Venezuelan doctors, 9,000 clinics, 3,000 Cuban dentists, 1,600 Venezuelan dentists, 8,500 nurses and 441 optician's. Also, medicines and glasses are distributed for free; thus assisting more than 17,000,000 people and guaranteeing an integrated health care and a better life quality for Venezuelans.

Finally, Alvarado stated that Barrio Adentro's goals continue expanding during 2006 and the years to come. This makes possible to strengthen each health care level and improve the National Public Health System.

"Barrio Adentro focuses on integrated, prompt, and good-quality health care exclusively aimed at the millions of people that were excluded from the health system for a long time," he added.