We remain extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Venezuela. Over 7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The health system has collapsed, leading to the return of deadly diseases such as polio and diphtheria. Venezuelans’ access to basic goods such as medicines and food is extremely limited, leading to high levels of food insecurity and increased child malnutrition. To date we have provided over £4 million in humanitarian aid inside Venezuela to respond to the most severe needs, including supporting malnourished children and providing vaccinations to tackle deadly diseases. Our support is also enabling vulnerable people moving across Venezuela to reconnect with their families through phone calls and internet access. In September the UK announced that we would be significantly increasing our £14.5 million regional response by an additional £30 million to meet the needs of those in Venezuela and across the region; a portion of this will be provided to current partners inside Venezuela in the coming weeks to meet immediate needs while we explore the best options for programming the majority of our new funding in the coming years.

The UK is the largest donor to the Education Cannot Wait Fund which has provided $14 million towards the Venezuela crisis response across the region, including $7 million inside Venezuela to support 75,000 children and adolescents by providing better access to education as well as quality and safe learning opportunities.

As of October 2019, over 4.5 million Venezuelans have left the country, representing around 15% of the population. There are increasing reports of gender-based violence and human trafficking for sexual exploitation as people seek alternative routes out of Venezuela. The UK has provided £2 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies across seven countries in the region to meet the immediate basic needs of those on the move including providing emergency shelter and health services. In addition, the UK was the second largest donor to the Global Concessional Financing Facility for Colombia, providing £8 million to help unlock concessional loans to support Colombia in continuing to host over 1.4 million Venezuelans.

DFID provides significant core funding to multilateral organisations, including the United Nations and the Red Cross movement, who are providing emergency humanitarian support as part of the international response in the region. In addition, the UK is the largest donor to the Education Cannot Wait Fund which has provided $14 million towards the Venezuela crisis response across the region, including $7 million in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to support 84,500 children and adolescents from Venezuela and host-communities back into protective, quality learning environments.