$6.2M from UNICEF to help Venezuelans in Guyana

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is assisting the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) with relief items value US$30,000 (GY$6,226,562) to support Venezuelan migrants who have settled in Regions One, Seven and Nine.

A statement from UNICEF on Friday said supplies are being procured to meet the initial needs of the displaced population as the influx of Venezuelans into Guyana increases.

The UN body said relief supplies for shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene are being procured for the CDC to deploy within communities in the coming weeks.

The items, which are expected to benefit an estimated 60 families per region, will be sent to the Regional Administrations for storage and distribution.

There has been a continued influx of Venezuelan refugees into Guyana’s bordering communities as the social and economic crisis in that country worsens.

Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, on Monday, announced that plans are in motion for the establishment of a homestead settlement area for the 260 confirmed Venezuelans, who are occupying areas in Barima-Waini (Region One).

The announcement was made after a meeting of the multi-agency coordinating committee held at the Ministry of Citizenship, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.

The Committee has also been working alongside the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Human Rights’ Council (UNHRC) to determine areas of collaboration and support.

Minister Felix said that the resettlement area will allow the Venezuelans to be self-reliant.

The intention, he said, is to develop an area where families are accumulated so they can move them into cash crop farming to provide for themselves.