Maternity Wards, ERs Closing in Colombia’s Acute Health Crisis (1)

President Gustavo Petro wanted to expand the state’s role in Colombia’s health care. Instead, he’s crushing a once-robust system that had been among the most effective in Latin America.

First maternity wards and neonatal units started shutting down. Now emergency rooms are closing their doors. Patients are waiting longer for urgent care. And families are struggling to pay for medicines that used to be provided for free.

“It’s as if the oxygen valve is slowly shutting down,” said Jorge Toro, head of Unips Colombia, which represents health providers in the Andean nation. “The health system is in a coma.”

The spiraling crisis ...