Written by Regina Gonzalez
November 26, 2021
The Venezuelan refugee crisis is “one of the largest in modern history” yet it is severely underfunded, especially when compared to the Syrian refugee crisis. Per capita, the international community has spent $1,500 on Syrians, but only $125 on Venezuelans (Bahar and Dooley, 2019). Furthermore, while conventional war did not cause this disaster, Venezuelans experience conditions very similar to those in an “active war zone”, which has forced many to flee to neighboring countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (Bahar and Dooley, 2019). As of 2020, the mass migration was “predominantly comprised of women” (Fuscoe, 2020, 189). While host countries have taken various measures to legalize the status of Venezuelan refugees, women face distinct challenges in adjusting to their new environment. In particular, there are barriers to accessing adequate healthcare, especially with regards to maternity. Access to this service varies across host countries; Brazil views the protection of women and infants as an “ethical” action, while the Colombian healthcare system is much more “fragmented”, making it even more challenging for women to access this service via the state (Bahamondes et al., 2020, 6; Giraldo et al., 2021, 2)
Many female Venezuelan refugees arriving in host countries are pregnant, have toddlers, or both. Yet, they lack access to nutritional supplements, as well as quality prenatal and postnatal services; this can be attributed to the fact that hospitals – especially those near the borders – are becoming overcrowded (Fuscoe, 2020). In fact, over 20% of pregnant or postpartum Venezuelan female migrants near the Brazilian border “failed to receive any prenatal or postnatal care” (Bahamondes et al., 2020, 1). Furthermore, the only public maternity hospital in Boa Vista – a significant crossing point between Venezuela and Brazil – saw an increase from 3% of births being by Venezuelan refugee women to 26% in just three years, highlighting the pressure experienced by the Brazilian healthcare system (Bahamondes et al., 2020). Considering that many women in Brazilian UNHCR shelters expressed a lack of proper maternal healthcare, it is likely that those living in informal settlements may have even more unmet needs. However, it is important to recognize that the situation in Brazil is significantly better than that in other host countries. It is a “longstanding tradition” in the country to “provide adequate care to pregnant women and children”; this means that vaccines, contraceptives, and intrapartum and postnatal care are freely provided. Nonetheless, this is not in the case in Colombia, where Venezuelan migrants must pay for their healthcare (Bahamondes et al., 2020).
Colombia receives the largest inflow of Venezuelan refugees, with 48% of this being women of reproductive age. Yet, in 2018 alone, over 75% of undocumented female migrants did not receive any form of prenatal care (Giraldo et al., 2021). This contrasts with only around 20% of pregnant and postpartum women in Brazil not receiving proper care. As a result of such a high influx of Venezuelan migrants, Colombia has stipulated that all immigrants – including those of irregular status – would have access to emergency, prenatal, and reproductive health care. Nevertheless, this is not always the case in reality. In fact, mobilizing social and cultural health capital has proven most useful in helping refugees access healthcare services in Colombia. This includes building networks within and outside the migrant community to “discover access routes and interact with providers” (Giraldo et al., 2021, 6). In Bogotá, Venezuelan health personnel attended almost 5,000 migrant births (Profamilia and USAID, 2020), illustrating the significance of utilizing community networks to access better healthcare in Colombia.
Clearly, the Venezuelan refugee crisis has a magnitude of effects on women, and the disparities in accessing (maternal) healthcare is just one way this manifests. In Brazil, Venezuelan migrants have greater direct access to prenatal and postnatal care, which can partially be attributed to the ethical value that the state places on providing adequate maternal and child care. Contrastingly, this is not prioritized in the Colombian context, such that migrants tap into and create local networks to better access healthcare. Considering that this is not the only service that Venezuelans find challenging to utilize in host countries, perhaps the mobilization of social capital is one way that refugees can better integrate into their new communities, and have a better sense of agency.
Sources:
Bahamondes, L., Laporte, M., Margatho, D., de Amorim, H. S., Brasil, C., Charles, C. M., Becerra, A., & Hidalgo, M. M. (2020). Maternal health among Venezuelan women migrants at the border of Brazil. BMC Public Health, 20(1).
Bahar, D., & Dooley, M. (2019, December 10). Venezuela refugee crisis to become the largest and most underfunded in modern history. Brookings.
Fuscoe, G. (2020). The Extraordinary Plight of Venezuelan Women: An Acute Example of the Need for Global Recognition as Refugees. Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, 34, 187–192.
Giraldo, V., Sobczyk, R., Fernández-Niño, J. A., Rojas-Botero, M. L., & Bojorquez, I. (2021). Prenatal care of Venezuelans in Colombia: Migrants navigating the healthcare system. Revista De Saúde Pública, 55, 49.
Profamilia & USAID. (2020). Health services inequalities affecting the Venezuelan migrant and refugee population in Colombia.
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