Plunging oil prices mean Venezuelan women are running out of birth control [View all]

[LuckyTheDog]

Shortages of basic goods such as milk, rice, corn and diapers have been a problem for years in the South American country. That's partly because of state price controls on products, a heavy reliance on imports — a lack of funds to pay for them — and failed land reforms that involved the redistribution of farming land.

Contraceptives, including birth control pills and condoms, are also on the growing list of hard-to-get items. Only one-tenth of the normal volume of contraceptives used by Venezuelans was available last year, El Pais reported earlier this month, citing the head of the country's pharmaceutical federation.

The situation has only worsened as the price Venezuela receives for its crude oil — the source of 95 percent of the foreign currency earnings it uses to pay for imports — plunges along with other international oils owing to a global oversupply and economic growth concerns.

MORE HERE: http://yonside.com/plunging-oil-prices-mean-venezuelan-women-are-running-out-of-birth-control/