Luke Taylor , 2025-04-14 13:56:00
Long queues are snaking outside pharmacies in major cities across Colombia as patients try to collect their drugs, only to be told that even basic medications are unavailable, as the country’s health system suffers as a result of growing debt and political turmoil.
Clinics are also turning away patients who request urgent treatment, despite having medical insurance.
Leydy Julieth Gómez recently sought urgent treatment for her 2 month old baby, who was on oxygen after contracting a severe infection, when his condition deteriorated. Despite paying a monthly premium for a health insurance plan, Gómez was told that an ambulance would take eight hours to arrive and several clinics nearby would not receive her on the basis that her healthcare provider was too heavily indebted to them.
When Gómez found a clinic that would treat her baby …