The financial crisis together with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused many Venezuelans to become even poorer as humanitarian aid has been restricted leaving some people on the brink of starvation.
The COVID-19 outbreak has only served to worsen the dire economic situation in Venezuela which has resulted in a humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that about 5 million Venezuelans have left the country, fleeing from extreme poverty and terrible living conditions, with the majority seeking shelter in other countries within Latin America.
To address this issue, the UN prepared the Humanitarian Response Plan according to which it intends to offer assistance to some 4.5 million Venezuelans whilst the plan acknowledges that at least 7 million will need urgent humanitarian aid. This means that the number of people requiring urgent help has doubled within only one year since, in 2019, the UN estimated that assistance should be provided to 2.3 million people, although local development aid experts warned at the time that this number had almost certainly been underestimated.
Luis Francisco Cabezas, Director of NGO Convite, estimates that around 12 million Venezuelans are in need of humanitarian aid and this number will continue to grow in view of the pandemic, hyperinflation, and increasing unemployment.
A recently launched platform, HumVenezuela, is also monitoring the level of poverty and estimates that this number may be even higher. Jo D’Elia, director of another NGO, ONG Civilis, said that it was very difficult to give an exact number, but the data on which the UN is currently basing its actions relates to 2019 with the UN having delayed issuing the plan because Maduro’s regime in Venezuela had blocked its publication.
Lusi Francisco Cabezas added that the COVID-19 pandemic had further complicated the situation as development aid had become significantly limited with many organizations focusing on addressing the effects of the outbreak while many people on the brink of starvation were left unaided.
According to Cabezas, the range of the Humanitarian Response Plan was limited as donor countries redirected their resources to deal with the pandemic in their own countries.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) declared that up until July 2020 it had been able to help 3.4 million Venezuelans and 1.9 million people received assistance as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the OCHA has stated that up until 15th of September 2020 it had obtained US$139.9 million for humanitarian assistance in Venezuela.
Luis Francisco Cabezas estimates that the UN will need US$762.5 million to help 4.5 million people whilst if it intends to reach 7 million people, the UN would need US$1.3 billion. However, Venezuelan development aid experts assess that about 12 million people are actually in need and US$2.6 billion would be necessary in order to provide them with assistance.
The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela began in 2015 when global oil prices suddenly dropped which was a nail in the coffin for the Venezuelan economy as it was almost entirely reliant on oil industry revenue. When hyperinflation subsequently hit, the Venezuelan currency became almost worthless forcing many people to face extreme poverty. According to development aid experts, the most vulnerable groups are the elderly and children, amounting to 4.5 million people.
