Venezuela is not a good place to grow old.

As president Nicolas Maduro starts his second term of office, the country is mired in an economic crisis that has brought the health care system to the brink of collapse.

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The lives of the elderly are more a battle to avoid calamity than a sweet retreat.

At least 85 percent of medicines are in scarce supply, according to the Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela.

“It’s too hard to find the medicines to treat their high blood pressure, diabetes and even prevent their epileptic seizures,” says Baudilio Vega, who’s in charge of the Mother Teresa of Calcutta senior home in Caracas; its 76 residents range in age from early 60s to late 80s.

Yet these seniors are the lucky ones among the 2.9 million Venezuelans over age 60.

All of them have a comfortable place to sleep and enjoy some meals for free, thanks to private donors who support the home.

As the general crisis has evolved, older citizens often must choose between buying food or drugs for their health. They can’t do both due to their insufficient income.

Nearly 64 percent of Venezuelans have lost weight since 2016 because they began to skip meals because of the impact of the economic crisis, according to the latest Life Conditions National Survey, “Encovi” in Spanish, an independent census run yearly since 2014 by college professors…. (Read More Click Here) (Excerpt from Gustavo Ocando Alex article on NPR)