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Situation Overview: Profiles of Venezuelan Persons of Concern in Pacaraima, Roraima State, July 2019

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Brazil
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REACH
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Background

Since early 2015, around 3 million1 Venezuelans have left their country due to ongoing social, economic and political instability. Of those, officials estimate that over 168,3572 Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants (henceforth referred to as Persons of Concern) are living in Brazil. With the passing of time these populations have progressively dispersed into Brazilian communities across Roraima state in the north as well as in key cities around the country. The Federal Government of Brazil initiated an emergency response in April 2018 to support the state of Roraima dealing with the influx of Venezuelans across its northern border. The resulting coordination provided by Operação Acolhida has instituted a number of programmes, among which are shelters for asylum seekers and migrants, as well as a voluntary relocation initiative to help reduce the floating population in border regions.

REACH, in support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other partners, began profiling Venezuelan Persons of Concern (PoCs) in 2018 using a variety of primarily qualitative tools modelled on an Area-based Approach (ABA). In 2019, the research seeks to increase the understanding of humanitarian actors regarding the living conditions, primary needs, vulnerabilities and coping strategies of Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants living in host communities and abrigos managed by humanitarian actors in the cities of Boa Vista, Pacaraima and Manaus.

The focus of this research has been to conduct a socio-economic and vulnerability profiling of the Venezuelan PoC population in such a way that the results are representative of the wider population. This assessment aims to a) facilitate the identification of marked differences in socio-economic and vulnerability profiles amongst different groups of Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants; b) indicate relevant trends, as well as challenges and opportunities for local integration and durable solutions; and c) enable informed prioritisation of humanitarian support.

This document summarises the key findings and results of the research conducted specifically in the town of Pacaraima. It is complemented by individual Situation Overviews for the cities of Boa Vista (RR) and Manaus (AM), alongside an analytical report that provides a comparative analysis between the three locations and across the different key strata that were the focus of this research cycle.