Minister Alvarado: Venezuela reaches historic number in surgical procedures with the Health and Life Plan

Published at: 08/10/2026 07:41 PM

The Venezuelan National Public Health System registers a highly positive balance in surgical procedures through the Health and Life Plan 2026, which ensures free care in areas of high national medical demand, as reported by the Minister of Popular Power for Health, Dr. Carlos Alvarado.

Alvarado indicated that in the area of hemodynamics, 2,935 procedures have been successfully performed; the projected goal before the end of the year is three thousand cardiac catheterizations.

“This is the first time in the entire history of Venezuela that this number of catheterization procedures has been reached at the national level; it represents a historic event for our health sector,” he emphasized.

As for the pacemaker implantation program, he specified that the goal set is set at 1,500 devices, and to date 1,427 have been placed, representing more than 95% compliance. These interventions are performed in 15 hospitals distributed in 14 states of the country.

On the other hand, Alvarado addressed the cataract care plan, where he stated that a total of 31,390 surgeries were successfully performed with the placement of intraocular lenses completely free of charge. The program set a goal of 50,000 interventions by the end of 2026.

General surgical interventions

On the other hand, Alvarado highlighted that general and less complex surgeries have registered 447,000 interventions performed to date, which represents a significant increase compared to the figures achieved in 2025.

In this regard, he explained that based on the requests of 1×10 of Good Governance, a plan was implemented to reactivate operating rooms in hospitals, Comprehensive Diagnostic Centers (CDI) and popular clinics. This has made it possible to carry out permanent operations every week to treat non-urgent cases such as hernias, lipomas, traumatological pathologies and cholecystectomies (gallbladder), progressively reducing the national surgical debt.

“We are constantly taking care that the operating rooms do not stop, that the supplies arrive so that this reaches the entire population of Venezuela that needs it,” he said.

Mazo News Team