Donors’ conference to aid Venezuelan refugees

A conference Canada will host June 17 for donors to Venezuelan refugees will highlight challenges six million asylum seekers are facing and raise funds to address these challenges, Global Affairs Canada’s assistant deputy minister said.

Michael Grant told a virtual news conference Friday the world should provide sufficient support to countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean that have offered shelter, health care, education and safety to Venezuelan refugees. “The Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis is a tragedy, which requires action,” he said.

He said the crisis is the largest the Western Hemisphere has ever seen, and the second largest in the world after the exodus from Syria, but it is not getting nearly the visibility it deserves.

Over half of Venezuelan refugees don’t have enough to eat and 80 to 90 per cent of them have lost their source of income, said Grant.

“The facts for Venezuelan refugees and migrants are stark,”

Grant said. “One in four children are separated from their families during the journey. And women and girls experienced particularly challenges such as gender-based violence and lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services.”

Eduardo Stein, representative for Venezuela of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Immigration, said the pandemic has exacerbated the dire conditions in which Venezuelan refugees live in 17 countries. “The burden should not fall on countries in the region alone,” he said.

He said a total of $1.44 billion is needed to implement a plan that was put together by 159 organizations across the countries that host refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

Grant said Canada is optimistic to see new donors come to the table, but he didn’t say how much money it will contribute.