Abstract

LEON CORRALES, Ladys Marlene. Social value of Miracle Mission in the venezuelan setting. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2009, vol.35, n.4, pp. 44-54. ISSN 1561-3127.

Statistical data reveal that there are 45 blind people all over the world and their morbidity rises significantly. Venezuela is not free from these problems and the eye diseases represent one of the major health problems. After passing the new Bolivarian Constitution in 1999, there was a social revolution that defined health as a right of the people and governmental responsibility. Due to the frequency of eye diseases and their economic and social impact, the Miracle Mission emerged as part of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas aimed at surgically treating persons with blindness or any other visual problem that may be corrected. Since 2004 up to the present, more than one million persons have been operated on. In the medical assistance field, there have been satisfactory results of the program. The Miracle Mission is an unprecedented human solidarity deed in the world history, whose essence is the truly social nature of the Cuban medicine. The Miracle Mission has assured in the Venezuelan context the timely effective diagnosis and treatment of various eye diseases suffered by persons who had been excluded from the medical care service and isolated from the social and productive life of the country. These persons have recovered their visual health and they have reintegrated into their families, their workplaces and the society.

Keywords : Miracle Mission; Barrio Adentro Mission; Venezuela; Cuban medicine.

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