Isabel Iturria: In Venezuela we are on a solidarity offensive to save lives

Published at: 10/02/2026 10:49 PM

The Sectorial Vice President of Science, Ecosocialism and Health, Isabel Iturria, assured that “in the midst of difficulties, we are not only in resistance, but in offensive, and it is not war, no, it is a Venezuelan offensive of solidarity, of life, it is the commitment to those who need it most, it is of affection for our own children and for everyone.”

This was stated when celebrating the good news announced by the President in charge of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, of the milestone of 15,000 lives saved at the Latin American Children's Cardiology Center, Dr. Gilberto Rodríguez Ochoa, in Caracas.

During a telephone interview with La Noticia, from Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), he stressed that “a complete transformation of our work, because rather than doing a job, I think we feel immersed in our professional fulfillment and in our fulfillment as Venezuelans”.

“These 15,000 saved boys and girls, and those with heart diseases that are susceptible to corrective surgery, are treated in less than a month, once they are registered by their doctor on the national waiting list,” he explained.

Iturria recalled that this figure, on its own, is extraordinary, when comparing the dramatic statistics of the last century, when the center did not exist and health policies did not reach the majority and in 1990 alone, 141 surgeries of this type were registered.

“If we had continued at that pace, then we would have, let's say, 141; in 10 years it would be 1,410; in 30 years it would be approximately 4,200 patients who would be operated on,” he calculated.

At that rate, he specified that more than 11,000 would be without attention in statistical comparison. “More than 10,000 girls and boys who would not have had a quality of life, or perhaps would no longer be among us in this world,” she said.

As for the pediatric cardiovascular interventions achieved at the medical center, which is the only one in Latin America, there are 8,785 pediatric heart surgeries and more than 4,600 highly complex procedures, all of which are expensive and require human and technological equipment and a continuous supply of supplies to ensure that these girls and boys can have the most favorable life option.

“I think it should be noted that this extraordinary achievement is immersed in the difficulties of this moment, and beyond the resistance and beyond our daily work due to the return of President Nicolás Maduro and the deputy Cilia Flores, the president in charge is moving forward and advancing at the pace of winners,” he stressed.

Referring to the accumulated experience of almost 20 years, he stressed that Cardiology is focused on solving the needs of surgery or catheterization. To this end, it has access on its website with a special password for doctors who treat children with these needs, and also for adults, in the first phase, in the area of pacemakers and hemodynamics, in addition to requests from users of the 1×10 Good Governance System.

“In that sense, the president in charge has instructed us to accelerate the care of these patients, and that we generate a clearer, more timely, more equitable, fairer mechanism to address this need for hemodynamics and pacemakers, and we are already taking immediate action,” she said.

He also reported that so far this year 2026, 180 hemodynamic and catheterization procedures and 91 pacemaker implants have been performed in different hospitals in the country. “And we're going to continue to grow,” he said.

Mazo News Team