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Vital aid for Venezuelans in jeopardy as UN Refugee Agency faces major funding gap

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Colombia
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UNHCR
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FUNDING THE RESPONSE

While many governments in the region have been generous in their response, more support by the international community is needed to complement their efforts. Venezuelans continue facing difficulties in accessing services, impacting their ability to provide food, housing, health care, and other basic needs for their families. Families are exhausting their savings and resources, and are falling further into poverty.

UNHCR’s overall requirements for its comprehensive response inside and outside the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela currently total $146 million, of which $134 million is included in the inter-agency RMRP.

UNHCR’s overall requirements are only 7% funded (March 2019), meaning the response is facing considerable constraints to meet even the most basic survival needs of those affected by the situation. This puts in jeopardy critical activities covering essential protection, such as granting access to territory, strengthening asylum systems, registration, child protection, and the prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence.

The exodus of Venezuelan nationals is the largest in the recent history of Latin America and the Caribbean. There are currently over 3.4 million refugees and migrants from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela throughout the world. Around 2.7 million have left their country since 2015 with no prospects for return in the short to medium term due to ongoing political and socio-economic developments.

Globally and to date, more than 408,000 Venezuelans have filed asylum claims - over 248,800 in 2018 alone - while Latin American countries have granted some 1.3 million residence permits and other forms of regular status to Venezuelans. However, many Venezuelans remain in an irregular situation or with an expiring tourist visa which does not guarantee international protection or access to other basic rights.