Brussels, Belgium, 20 June 2022 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has implemented health and protection programming in Colombia and through local partners in Venezuela, focusing on at-risk persons, such as women, children, and adolescents. Through funding from the European Union (EU), the program aims to improve access to quality primary, sexual and reproductive health care, as well as child protection and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response services. The EU has supported these actions and services with a total contribution of 3.9 million euros.
Since 2014, insecurity, instability, and violence have left over 6 million Venezuelans with no choice but to leave the country. About 1.8 million have sought safety in Colombia where, despite promising actions by the government to establish protection measures, covering basic needs continues to be a challenge. The struggle to scale up life-saving support for health and maternal care puts Venezuelans — especially women, children, and adolescents — at extreme risk.
EU funding has allowed the IRC to reach a total of 73,612 individuals. In Colombia, among other things, the IRC has conducted both in-person and remote primary, sexual and reproductive health care consultations; provided case management services to survivors of gender-based violence, children and adolescents;, and accompanied groups of Venezuelans most at risk, who are still on the move, to ensure their their travels from border to border and throughout the country are safe. In Venezuela, the IRC has been working through local partners to provide sexual and reproductive health care, child protection services, case management and gender-based violence prevention.
Marianne Menjivar, Director of the Venezuela Crisis Response at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said:
“Life continues to be extremely difficult for Venezuelans, even after arriving in neighboring countries. While countries like Colombia, Ecuador or Peru have hosted a vast number of Venezuelans — despite insufficient international funding and support — a combination of differing immigration policies, overstretched national systems, and the effects of COVID-19 are putting pressure on their capacity to respond.
International support is essential to comprehensively address the Venezuela crisis. Funding from the European Union has allowed the IRC to develop a response to support Venezuelans with some of their most urgent needs in places where they are trying to rebuild their lives.”
The IRC’s response to the Venezuela crisis
The IRC is on the ground delivering a collective response to support Venezuelans holistically — and timely — where they need it most: implementing programming with a mixed model of partnerships with local organizations and direct implementation in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and providing support for populations at risk through local organizations in Venezuela.