Today, during a high-level side event on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. Senior Advisor for Special Political Affairs Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis announced nearly $247 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the nearly 12 million people affected by the Venezuela regional crisis as well as $89 million additional development funds for economic integration and democracy support.
The additional USAID humanitarian funding will provide nearly 5.7 million Venezuelan migrants, refugees, and the communities hosting them in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru with hot meals, vouchers, and direct assistance to purchase food, hygiene supplies, and other urgent necessities. Inside Venezuela, humanitarian assistance will provide critically needed food and nutrition assistance for more than 7 million people and help rehabilitate water and sanitation infrastructure at health facilities. It will provide essential medical and hygiene supplies and health assistance in communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic alongside technical and capacity building support for healthcare workers, and provide protection and psychosocial support to survivors of gender-based violence and children.
USAID development funding will support economic opportunities for Venezuelan migrants, assist the communities hosting migrants throughout the region, and provide technical assistance for public services of these host countries and communities so they may absorb the influx of new constituents. Inside Venezuela, USAID development funds continue to support democratic actors, including human rights defenders, civil society organizations, independent media, and electoral oversight.
The United States remains the largest single donor of assistance for the response to this crisis, and since 2017 has provided more than $1.9 billion in humanitarian, economic, development, and health assistance to help Venezuelans inside Venezuela and across the region.
USAID applauds the generosity of other donors who joined the United States in providing additional assistance, and continues to call for more donors to urgently scale up funding to respond to the immense needs.
While aid is critical to ease people’s suffering, it cannot address the underlying conditions that caused Venezuela’s crisis. Only a peaceful, political solution can address the corruption, political repression, failed policies, and economic mismanagement, which are the root causes of this crisis.
For the latest updates on USAID’s humanitarian assistance for the Venezuela regional crisis, visit.