On March 11th, 2022, the Venezuelan Science Incubator (IVC) was featured in a special issue of Science magazine, with an article titled Healing Venezuela. The feature tells of the resolution and the trials and tribulations that made an accomplishment of the past 5 years, during which the delicate medical structure of Venezuela withstood the impact of COVID-19. This is our story; we are the IVC. We are 60 young medical volunteers who make up a nucleus of effort committed to treating infectious diseases, and to educating the people of Venezuela on the sanitary, hygienic, and vector-control protocols which would greatly improve public health in our country. The article recounts a burden which was never exclusively our own, but one which whole populations in rural and urban communities have come to know well. Counting on the help of Science magazine, we light a match with the hopes that it gains flames and inspires global collaboration for our exigent pursuits.
“The nonprofit Venezuelan Science Incubator (IVC), a national network of 60 young physicians, biologists, veterinarians, and others who are diagnosing and treating infections and educating the public on hygiene and sanitation… is now targeting Chagas… [with] a real-time geographic reference website called #TraeTuChipo, or ‘Bring Your Bug’… a tropical malady resurging in Venezuela… and is gearing up for Deworming Venezuela.”
To read a review of Healing Venezuela, written by one of the voices within the IVC, please click here.
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