Nicolás Maduro celebrates “economic growth”, but in Venezuela there are millions of people suffering from malnutrition

Irianny and her little son are malnourished. She, a practicing teacher, is unable to provide a balanced diet for her family, as she earns a monthly salary of less than $ 100. That’s why she goes to a free dining room, where needs and economic recovery abound Venezuela it is far from being felt.

The boy is not yet two years old and for months he has been part of a humanitarian assistance program run by the NGO Caritas, which he entered by presenting signs of malnutritionthe same that were later identified in the mother, who also has a six-month-old baby.

The 36-year-old woman does not hesitate to give thanks for the help she receives, which she sees as an essential part of her life.

Even knowing that this Friday is World Humanitarian Aid Day, he asks that soup kitchens such as the one he frequents in a neighborhood of Caracas multiply because there are “many” who need this support.

urgent needs

like irianna, at least 5.2 million Venezuelans are in urgent needaccording to the humanitarian response plan released this week by the United Nations, which asked international donors for nearly $ 800 million to fund these aid programs in the country.

The requirement, based on an increase in perceived needs, increases a reality parallel to that of the economic recovery proclaimed by the government by Nicola Maduro.

“There are banks in the world, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Chase Manhattan Bank, ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) that say that Venezuela will grow between 10%, 15% or 20%”, Maduro celebrated in a speech this Wednesday.

“Venezuela is growing, it is producing, Venezuela is advancing in a great project for the country, a diversified Venezuela,” said the president, who confirmed that in the first half of this year there was “record” growth. of the economy, although it did not disclose the amount.

In any case, this alleged recovery does not reach all ordinary citizens.

If, on the one hand, Venezuela’s growth in 2022 is, according to the Executive, the largest in Latin America, no country in the region needs as much money to help its poorest population as the oil nation.

This gap is due, according to Dr. Javier Manrique, to the continuity of the needs of the most vulnerable – such as children, indigenous communities, people with disabilities and the elderly – to whom economic improvement has not arrived.

“Humanitarian assistance in Venezuela must continue because, especially for these vulnerable groups, the determinants of their vulnerability have not disappeared, there is no economic recovery, there is no higher income,” the doctor told EFE. , humanitarian coordinator of Venezuela. the NGO Convite.

The organization, which supports the elderly in almost the whole country, points out that 70% of this population receives only a pension of $ 23 a month, with which they cannot cover their health or food costs, since it takes about $ 400 to pay the minimum fees.

demand to the world

While the idea of ​​recovery resonates in a country full of international concerts and new companies, “needs continue to exist” and “it is more important than ever that the international community continues to show solidarity with the Venezuelan people”, or at least that is what it claims. UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths this month after a visit to the Caribbean nation.

Irianny is proof of this the needs have not disappeared. The teacher does not deny that “some families” are “better” today than a few years ago, but, she emphasizes, in her case this improvement has been achieved thanks to humanitarian assistance.

My life “could be said to have been improved with the help I receive through these organizations (NGOs), which is what has allowed me to improve both the economic and health situation my family perceives,” he says.

In view of this reality, the director of Convite insists, it is necessary to make visible the shortcomings and the “dramatic indicators”, with extreme poverty estimated at over 70% by non-governmental organizations, to obtain international funding that will allow us to continue to support those who need it most.

“The fact that a person with all the rights inherent in his condition as a human being has to choose between medicine and nutrition, I think is already sufficient proof of the level of suffering he is facing”, stresses Manrique.

Both the doctor and the UN and the government agree on the importance of linking humanitarian assistance with capacity building, a link they believe could leverage the nascent economic recovery so that no one, especially the most needy, is left behind.

Source: EFE

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