Venezuela replaces health minister after data shows crisis worsening

CARACAS, (Reuters) - President Nicolas Maduro has abruptly dismissed Venezuela’s health minister days after the government broke a nearly two-year silence on data that showed the country’s medical crisis significantly worsening.

Gynecologist Antonieta Caporale, who held the post for just over four months, was replaced by pharmacist Luis Lopez, the government said.

Ministry data published this week showed cases of infant mortality rose 30 percent and maternal mortality 65 percent, while malaria shot up 76 percent last year. There was also a jump in illnesses such as diphtheria and Zika.

In the fourth year of a brutal recession, Venezuela is suffering widespread shortages of medicines and basic medical equipment. A leading pharmaceutical association has said the country is running short on roughly 85 percent of medicines.

Millions are also struggling with food shortages and soaring inflation, fueling protests against Maduro.

In announcing the cabinet change late on Thursday night, Vice President Tareck El Aissami did not provide reasons for the minister’s ouster.

“President Nicolas Maduro is grateful to Doctor Antonieta Caporale for her work,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Health Ministry had stopped releasing figures after July 2015, amid a wider data blackout.

The data release was therefore significant, and welcomed by government critics.

“The publication of the data by the Ministry of Health is a crucial step in addressing health challenges in Venezuela,” read a statement from UNICEF, which had previously avoided criticizing the government.