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TThe 2016 rate is equivalent to the rate recorded in the late 1990s, say the researchers, which means that 18 years of progress may have been lost.
The researchers could not determine the cause of death, but pointed to a number of factors. The number of malaria cases increased from 1.5 per 1000 inhabitants in 2010 to 10.1 in 2017.
The number of measles cases has exploded: between 4605, between January and August, there were rarely more than 300 per year. Diphtheria has also returned to the country and 2024 cases have been reported since 2016.
The report also highlights a 35% increase in the number of cases of diarrhea and 40% of cases of acute bronchitis between 2014 and 2016.
Researchers struggled to obtain accurate data because of the "strict privacy policy" governing public institutions in Venezuela. The government banned the release of mortality statistics in 2013.
Rather, researchers relied on estimates from the World Health Organization and the United Nations, which they believe may be underestimated because they were based on the badumption that a continuation of the downward trend.
The authors of the article explain that the recent declines in standard of living and health care suffered by the Venezuelan people mean that the mortality rate could be higher.
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