Venezuelan humanitarian organizations are constantly being challenged by many obstacles that hamper their activities and the provision of effective assistance to people in need. Some have even been forced to halt their activities altogether within the last six years.
The latest report from Pahnal, the Venezuelan Platform of National Humanitarian Action, indicates that local Venezuelan humanitarian organizations find it a real struggle to be able to bring people relief. They are faced with many problems, including very basic ones, such as a lack of power, water, and internet access not to mention limited financial resources.
The report is based on a survey conducted amongst organizations in Venezuela covering the period from 2015 to 2021. The targets of those organizations are presented in the graph below:
Challenges
The number of factors Venezuelan humanitarian organizations have to struggle with on a daily basis is significant. While 78% reported an increase in the costs they have to bear, 37.5% said that the funding they previously had relied on has now disappeared. All of the organizations surveyed reported internet problems, 81% experienced frequent power failures as every Venezuelan state is often affected by long-lasting blackouts, 56% were affected by constant water shortages and 50% did not have cell phone service.
Apart from these issues, the organizations have also had to struggle with other problems caused either by the pandemic or the economic and security crisis in Venezuela that has resulted in 43.8% being unable to secure transportation and safeguards and 68.8% being unable to access fuel supplies. Meanwhile, 25% reported safety concerns in the populated areas where they provide assistance and 62.5% faced restrictions because of quarantine measures that prevented them from offering relief. In areas where they attempted to deliver aid, 31% of organizations had problems with telecommunication.
Feliciano Reyna, a human rights defender, and the President and Founder of the Venezuelan humanitarian organization, Action Solidarity, noted that in addition to these problems, the humanitarian organizations had to face the distrust of the Nicolas Maduro government.
“Last year security forces detained eight members of our staff. This kind of situation is quite common practice applied by the government,” he said.
Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, also confirmed Maduro’s regime regularly represses Venezuelan human rights activists and aid workers. She particularly pointed out “attacks, harassments, and threats,” against them.
Organizations were also challenged by a lack of staff and some have even had to abort their activities as shown below.
Humanitarian emergency
While Venezuelan humanitarian organizations face problems in their operations, their work is more than necessary with almost 80% of Venezuelans living in extreme poverty and only 9% being food secure.
Feliciano Reyna noted that Venezuelans desperately need assistance due to the humanitarian emergency stemming from four main factors – hunger, the collapse of the healthcare system, disruptions to the education system, and the migration crisis since over 5.6 million Venezuelans have now left the country. He estimates that the Venezuelan healthcare system has a deficit of about 50% of doctors and about 70% of nurses.
