They ask for US $ 304 million to assist 900,000 Venezuelans in Peru

The Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela in Peru has asked the international community to raise US $ 304 million to complement the Peruvian government’s assistance to some 900,000 refugees and migrants from that country in 2022.

Peru has received 1.29 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants and currently has more than 530,000 refugee applications, making it the second destination country for citizens of that South American nation.

However, more than 70% of the Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Peru reduced the quantity, frequency and quality of their food and the acute malnutrition of children rose from 3% to 5.4%, compared to last year, according to the Joint Analysis of Needs.

This analysis was prepared between July and August last by the Working Group for Refugees and Migrants (GTRM), co-led by the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

DIFFICULT ACCESS TO HEALTH AND HOME

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 60% of the sample of 350 interviewees for the analysis pointed to the lack of documents or their regularization as the main obstacle to accessing the Comprehensive Health System (SIS).

Likewise, 70% said that they also had to change their home frequently in the previous months, given that their situation exposes them to instability at home.

The analysis prepared by the Working Group and the information from 90 civil organizations allowed, in turn, to design the Peru chapter of the Regional Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela for the year 2022.

The funds requested will be directed to guarantee humanitarian assistance and improve access to information, provide regularization alternatives and provide access to livelihoods and decent work opportunities, said a statement from the UNHCR and the IOM.

“The pandemic continues to impact the lives of Venezuelan refugees and migrants. We receive constant concerns about the limitations to be able to eat more than once a day, the difficulties they face to advance in the regularization and documentation processes to have access to their fundamental rights and basic services of first necessity ”, declared the representative of the UNHCR , Federico Agusti.

LOOKING FOR FORMAL WORK

In turn, the IOM Chief of Mission in Peru, Jorge Baca Vaughan, added that “it is urgent to advance in the efforts to generate development and eliminate the gap in access to decent work that allows expanding the positive impact of this population in the country”.

“Today less than 5% of Venezuelans in the country are formally employed in the private sector, it is estimated that by achieving greater socioeconomic inclusion they could contribute more than S / 650 million (US $ 162.5 million) of fiscal income (0.09% of the PBI), ”said Baca Vaughan.

The response plan stems from a joint strategy in the 17 Latin American countries that host refugees and migrants from Venezuela, prepared by the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, made up of 200 civil, religious and multilateral organizations.