Rejection of blockades in Bolivia grows: a girl with cancer who could not reach La Paz to receive chemotherapy has died

After more than a month of road blockades in Bolivia, the consequences are already being felt in hospitals, markets, and homes in different regions of the country. The lack of medicines, oxygen, fuel, and food, along with the death of patients who could not receive care in time, has turned the humanitarian impact of the crisis into one of the population’s main concerns.

The case that caused the greatest shock in the last few hours was that of a 12-year-old girl who suffered from cancer and who died after being unable to reach the city of La Paz to receive chemotherapy.

The minor lived in Tambo Quemado, a town on the border with Chile affected by road blockades promoted by peasant organizations and union sectors demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz.

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“Unfortunately, she could not make it to her chemotherapy, which was on May 18th,” explained Ana Carola Torres, president of the Association of Volunteers Against Childhood Cancer. As she recounted, the parents tried to cross various blocked points to transport the girl, but were unable to do so.

“The parents have been trying to cross in different places, but unfortunately they were not lucky enough to do so and had to return home with the little girl”, he pointed out.

The minor suffered from B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. After several weeks without receiving the scheduled treatment, she experienced decompensation, fever, and a hemorrhage that led to her death. Her death brought the number of victims related to the conflict to ten. Seven of them died due to not having received medical attention in time.

With the slogan “Milk doesn’t wait,” producers demanded the lifting of road blockades during a protest in Cochabamba

Among the deceased is also a 24-year-old woman who needed oncological treatment and could not reach a health center. The situation has raised alarms among patient organizations and doctors, who warn that other patients are going through similar circumstances.

Torres stated that at least a dozen children with cancer are facing problems accessing their therapies due to the blockades, especially in rural areas of La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, and Cochabamba. Furthermore, he questioned that ambulances and vehicles carrying patients are encountering obstacles to circulate.

“The right to protest is being claimed above the right to life,” he stated.

Meanwhile, health centers are working under pressure. In La Paz, the Children’s Hospital suspended around 50 scheduled surgeries due to the lack of medical oxygen. Its director, Alfredo Mendoza, warned that the situation is approaching a critical point.

“Today we are running out of cryogenic oxygen and we are going to use only oxygen cylinders,” he explained. He also warned that the available reserves would only last for a few days. “If we don’t have a solution in three days, it will have these catastrophic results,” he maintained.

The concern also spread to the families of the hospitalized patients. Parents of hospitalized children held a protest in front of the medical center demanding the supply of oxygen. Among them was Yamilet, the mother of a five-year-old boy who is waiting for a biopsy that has been postponed due to the lack of supplies.

The lack of oxygen in health centers prompted a protest in La Paz, where demonstrators demanded measures to guarantee the passage of medical supplies (EFE)

“Please, I ask you to put your hand on your heart and solve this once and for all”, he demanded. “We are talking about many lives, about the lives of children who are not to blame”, he added.

Difficulties in accessing treatments are not limited to pediatric hospitals. Janet Ramallo, a 43-year-old cancer patient, recounted the complications she faces every time she needs to go for a consultation. “The situation is terrible, I make a superhuman effort to get here”, she said.

As explained, transportation problems, medicine shortages, and price increases are affecting numerous patients.

“There are people who have already decided to stop their treatment, and you will understand that cancer is a matter of life and death,” he/she stated. Then he/she issued a warning: “We want to live, but if the Government does not do its part and does not restore order, I believe we are going to have to count more deaths.”

The crisis is also reflected outside of hospitals. In La Paz, merchants and consumers face an increasingly reduced supply of basic products. Getting milk, eggs, or other food items requires long lines, while prices are multiplying. In Cochabamba, producers of milk, pork, and poultry protested because they cannot transport their goods to other regions.

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With supplies compromised and health centers at their limit, the outrage of broad sectors of the population is no longer focused solely on the political demands that gave rise to the protests. With slogans in favor of access to medical care, health professionals protested against the blockades that hinder the supply of hospitals in Bolivia (AP)

The demand that is gaining ground is another: that circulation be restored and that the sick, especially children, can access the medical care they need before the list of victims continues to grow.