A Doctor Or Nurse Might Earn Just $6 A Month In Venezuela
Thousands of medical workers have left the country. Those who remain at public institutions earn very low wages — and often have to moonlight to make ends meet.
In September 2018, Maria Paula Toledo got her first monthly paycheck from the Venezuelan Ministry of Health for her work as a doctor at a rural clinic in Venezuela, outside the city of Maracaibo. It was the equivalent of about $1.50 — enough to buy a regular pizza, she says, but with no extra toppings.
A year later, she's doing slightly better – her current monthly salary is worth about $2.50 – thanks to adjustments to her wages as the government bumped up the national minimum wage.
The minimum wage now stands at $1.68 per month – that's 40,000 bolívares based on the in Venezuela of 23,675 bolívares per U.S. dollar. And
