UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) Venezuela refugees and migrants face deteriorating conditions and growing risks to their health and survival as the novel coronavirus spreads across South America, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said on Friday.
"As Latin America emerges as the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns of worsening conditions for displaced Venezuelans in the southern region of the continent as winter approaches," Mantoo said.
Novel coronavirus-related lockdowns and confinement measures have already resulted in severe hardship for Venezuelan refugee and migrants. Many have lost their livelihoods and are faced with poverty, destitution, eviction, widespread hunger and food insecurity, according to the UNHCR.
"As national capacities are stretched to breaking point, access to public health services and timely medical care is also a challenge, especially for those in an irregular situation," Mantoo said.
The UNHCR expressed concern that the refugees' plight could deteriorate further as winter approaches and temperatures fall in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, which together host more than 1.5 million Venezuelans.
