Caracas.- The United States government will pledge more than 171 million dollars for humanitarian aid and development projects for Venezuelans who suffer urgent needs at home and abroad.
Some of the money will go for food, water and sanitation within the crisis-stricken country and other funds will go for shelters, health care and other services for Venezuelans who have immigrated to South American countries, the State Department told The Associated Press. , anticipating the formal announcement.
US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield is expected to announce the pledge of funds during a conference in Brussels. The event will seek to raise awareness about the protracted political and economic crisis in Venezuela, which has plunged millions into poverty and caused the emigration of more than 7 million, most of them to Latin American countries.
Four months ago, the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition, including the Washington-backed sector, reached an agreement to finance social programs with money from Venezuela’s frozen funds abroad, but the fund — which would be managed by Nations and would gradually receive up to $3 billion—has yet to materialize.
Some three out of four Venezuelans live on less than $1.90 a day, the international benchmark for extreme poverty. The minimum wage in bolivars is equivalent to $5 a month, compared to $30 in April.
That salary is not enough to feed a person, let alone a family. The cost of the basic food basket for a family of four was $372 in December.
A UN report published last year estimated that 795 million dollars were needed to help 5.2 million people in Venezuela through health, education, water and sanitation projects, among others.
The State Department said the funds to be announced Friday include $84 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for health, food, water and other services for Venezuelan residents in the country and emergency food assistance for migrants. The money will be handled by UN agencies and non-governmental organizations operating in Venezuela.
USAID said it will give $31 million to, among other things, help the socioeconomic integration of Venezuelans in Colombia, where most migrants have settled during the crisis, and in Ecuador. Part of that sum will be to support human rights organizations, independent press and other groups.
More than $56 million from the State Department will go to humanitarian programs for Venezuelans and their host countries, such as shelters, mental health services, and protection of women, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups.
