Better living conditions for Venezuelan migrants – EUROPANA V

finished

Venezuela has been in a deep political and humanitarian crisis since 2015. In what was once the richest country in South America, 80% of the population is now poor. Years of mismanagement have left people unable to meet their basic needs, malnutrition is high and healthcare is in a catastrophic state. This has led to the largest wave of migration in the recent history of Latin America. According to the UNHCR (as of November 2024), nearly 7.9 million Venezuelans have left their country. Colombia has taken in the most migrated people with over 2.8 million, followed by Peru (1.66 million), Brazil (626,900), Chile (532,700) and Ecuador (444,800).

The wave of migration is overburdening the institutional and financial capacity of the host countries. Migrants are living in precarious conditions. Tens of thousands of them have no accommodation and no income. The Covid-19 pandemic and the hard lockdowns in the host countries have hit the migrant population hard, causing them to lose what little they had built up, in addition to the health risks. To make matters worse, the global impact of the war in Ukraine on food security is now also being felt by the Venezuelan refugees, further exacerbating their very difficult situation.

The regional project contributes to improving the living conditions of people in need in Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela. It closes critical humanitarian supply gaps and improves the coverage of basic needs, particularly in the sections of food security and access to water. The integration of vulnerable Venezuelans in the host countries is supported and information is provided on access to their rights. The protection of the migrant population is increased with the help of campaigns to raise awareness of the conditions and the risks of migration.

In particular, women, children and young people, indigenous population groups, people with disabilities and older people are the target groups of the project activities; and in Colombia also internally displaced persons due to the armed conflict in the country.

Cash (cards), food parcels or vouchers and prepared meals are distributed in order to improve the living conditions of the migrants and, above all, to cover their general basic needs and food requirements. The combination of financial support and direct food aid enables individuals and families to better stabilize themselves socio-economically. Migrants in transit can also use the money for their onward journey and thus increase their protection against human trafficking, violence or assaults. Furthermore, shelters along the migratory routes, targeted advice on their rights and information campaigns on migration conditions and safety and/or security help the project participants to better protect themselves and integrate.