Introduction
The article titled “Venezuela’s mining region a hotbed of sex trafficking and violence, U.N. says” was written by Luke Taylor and published by The Guardian on September 30, 2022. It is devoted to an individual history that embodies many of the problems faced by the state of Venezuela.
After the country’s economy collapsed, there was an explosive growth of social injustice and lawlessness. The number of illegal exploitation of land in search of valuable resources such as gold has increased in the country. The young woman at the center of the story was misled by a Facebook ad that guaranteed her a standard job in a mining town (Taylor, 2022). Arriving in the city, she was forced to work as a sexual servant for the miners.
Data That Supports the Significance of the Topic
This article provides shocking indications of the extent to which crime and danger to vulnerable members of the population have increased in the country. Venezuela left 7 million people, but President Maduro introduced a military junta to maintain power (Taylor, 2022). There were 517 sex trafficking victims established in 2020, of which 124 were underage (Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2022).
Moreover, the cities and forests along the Orinoco River are filled with infectious diseases. There were 11 cases of yellow fever disease registered in 2021, and the vaccination campaign of 2020 did not manage to achieve 100% vaccination (Bagcchi, 2022). In two years of the COVID pandemic, there were nearly 450.000 cases of contraction in Venezuela, which only deepened the health crisis, resulting in 5361 COVID-related deaths (Bagcchi, 2022). This is despite the fact that the U.S. government provided to Venezuela 9 million dollars of COVID-related assistance (Kates et al., 2020). At the same time, gangs began to run the mining towns, and sex trafficking flourished.
Applying Epidemiology and Population Health Concepts
Epidemiological Triad
The concept of epidemiological triad seems applicable to the situation (The Global Health Observatory, 2022). It can be defined as a combination of external agents, a host that is prone to infection, and uniting environment. An example of such a triad in Venezuela is the virus-carrying mosquito as the agent, the Indigenous mineworkers with weakened health as the host, and the completely unprotected working conditions.
Risk Group Theory
One may also apply risk group theory to the case of modern-day Venezuela. At-risk groups are defined depending on the context of the particular healthcare issue but usually include disabled individuals, representatives of diverse cultures, and homeless people. Taking the example of current-day Venezuela, these at-risk groups turn out to be extremely vulnerable. There is no human rights support for these people, and they are usually taken advantage of or neglected, which increases the multi-morbidity risks, as can be seen from the cases of Venezuelan refugees.
Interprofessional Collaboration
Considering other concepts related to the health of the population, it should be noted that there is a lack of interprofessional collaboration since the absence of a coherent and non-predatory economic system makes it impossible to counteract epidemics. The state of affairs in the country is a vivid example of the violation of all the foundations of the theory of social justice. Resources are unfairly distributed in the country since it is actually headed by a criminal group.
Conclusion
It seems clear that the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the World Health Organization have by no means been achieved in Venezuela in recent years. The collapse of the economy and the flourishing of legalized crime gave rise to all possible catastrophic manifestations of poverty, need, and vice. Environmental pollution (SDG 3.9) is increasing in the country due to constant mine explosions (Global Health Observatory, 2022).
The country only encourages sexual and physical violence against women, the elimination of which is another global goal (SDG 5.2.1). In Venezuela, both transmissible and non-communicable diseases (SDG 3.3.-4) are also flourishing, due not only to the high infectiousness of the space and the lack of vaccines but also to dangerous natural conditions beyond the control of the state. The exploitation of resources by the government gives rise to drug addiction and unsanitary conditions.
References
Bagcchi, S. (2022). Yellow fever and infectious diseases in Venezuela. NewsDesk3(2), e95. Web.
Global Health Observatory. (2022). Monitoring health for the SDGs. World Health Organization. Web.
Kates, J. ,Moss, K., & Oum, S. (2020). Preparing for COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries: Leveraging U.S. global health assets. KFF. Web.
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. (2022). 2022 trafficking in persons report: Venezuela. U.S. Department of State. Web.
Taylor, L. (2022). Venezuela’s mining region is a hotbed of sex trafficking and violence, U.N. says. The Guardian. Web.