United States financing humanitarian aid to Venezuelan refugees in Guyana

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 December 2019, 17:16 by Writer

Millo Yiftach, Field Coordinator of HIAS, a global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees, and Programme Officer of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. Department of State Rebecca Alvarado.

The United States (U.S.) says it has provided nearly US$4 million in humanitarian assistance to Venezuelan refugees in Guyana since fiscal Year 2017.

“Funding includes increasing Venezuelans’ access to legal status, promoting social integration in host communities, and improving support and access to social services,” the American embassy in Georgetown said in a brief statement.

The U.S. disclosure coincides with a visit by Programme Officer Rebecca Alvarado from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. Department of State to Guyana from December 9-10 to meet with government officials from the Department of Citizenship, the United Nations and other international program partners.

“The visit underscores the U.S. commitment to assist vulnerable Venezuelans and host communities complementing Guyana’s generous efforts to manage the impacts of the crisis in Venezuela by providing critical social services and protection,” the embassy here said in a brief statement.

UN agencies such as the International Organisation of Migration and the United Nations Children’s Fund have been assisting the Guyana government in responding to arrival of Venezuelan migrants to flee the harsh economic, social and political crisis in their homeland.

Guyana has hosted more than 36,000 Venezuelan migrants.