“Despite efforts by host countries to legalize and integrate refugees and migrants from Venezuela, more than 4 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean still struggle to access food, shelter, medical assistance, education and formal employment,” he said, High Commissioner for Refugees, in a statement this Tuesday.
According to the latest 2023 Refugee and Migrant Needs Assessment, millions of these Venezuelans in the region lack stable livelihood options, hindering their effective integration and contribution to host communities.
The analysis was conducted by the Regional InterAgency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V), which is jointly led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
“Amid a global and regional cost of living crisis, Venezuelans are at greater risk of falling victim to abuses such as human trafficking, forced recruitment and genderbased violence,” he said.
What the survey shows:
19% of refugee and migrant children do not attend school and instead support their families with lowpaying, informal jobs to survive.