Venezuela's food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilizations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing. Traditional contraceptives like condoms or birth control pills have virtually vanished from store shelves, pushing women towards the hard-to-reverse surgery. While no recent national statistics on sterilizations are available, doctors and health workers say demand for the procedure is growing. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

People stand in queue keeping social distance beside a Covid-19 awareness scarecrows placed by Chennai municipality at a market during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Chennai on April 11, 2020. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

Malaysian firemen make their way to a designated area to spray disinfectant, in an effort to combat coronavirus and COVID-19, at the entrance to a school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14 April 2020. According to media reports, Malaysia has confirmed over 4,000 cases of coronavirus and COVID-19. (Photo by Ahmad Yusni/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Macaque monkeys sit on a car in Hua Hin on May 29, 2020, as low tourist numbers due to the ongoing COVID-19 novel coronavirus situation have resulted in a decrease in the number of people feeding them. The monkeys in the town are going hungry as a consequence of the drop in tourism as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Jack Taylor/AFP Photo)

Manchester United's Amad Diallo, left, challenges for the ball with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Chelsea at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, September 20, 2025. (Photo by Dave Thompson/AP Photo)

Travellers wait in queue to test for COVID-19 at a train station in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

Newcastle United's Swiss defender #05 Fabian Schar heads the ball during the English League Cup semi-final second leg football match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England, on February 5, 2025. (Photo by Paul Ellis/AFP Photo)

A soup for the students is pictured during an activity for the end of the school year at the Padre Jose Maria Velaz school in Caracas, Venezuela July 12, 2016. Due to the faltering socialist economy and the plunge in global oil prices, Venezuela has been in recession since early 2014. Due to the faltering socialist economy and the plunge in global oil prices, Venezuela has been in recession since early 2014. It suffers from the world's highest inflation and is experiencing shortages of basic goods, from milk to medicines. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)