Navigating Crisis: World Vision's Response to Venezuela's Economic Struggles and COVID-19 Challenges

Hunger strikes, malnutrition, and unemployment have been the most experienced problems in Venezuela for the last half a decade. In 2016, the country was in an economic crisis leading to a lack of funding in healthcare systems like hunger and improper nutrition, high mortality of children, contagious diseases, and rate of unemployment increase immensely. According to Standley et al., the UN reported that an estimated 3 million Venezuelan citizens fled the country because of the rapid economic crisis that led to food shortage and improper medical care (2). In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic spread in Latin America, borders were closed, and global oil prices reduced significantly, leading to a high unemployment rate (6).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

World Vision has over seven decades of experience in aiding communities in different countries during disasters and crises. Through World Vision Fund in conjunction with donors, communities, partners, and governments, the organization can create opportunities for the vulnerable communities. In recent years, Latin America's largest migration has been caused by food shortages, lack of enough medical supply, violence, and hyperinflation.

The diseases that were once eradicated, such as malaria and cholera, have returned significantly. Additionally, children are increasingly dying because of hunger and malnutrition. Reports by government sources indicated that the rate of inflation in Venezuela reached 10% in 2019. Other estimates suggest that between 4 and 8 million Venezuelan citizens fled their country since 2014. About 5 million of this population fled to find food, employment, improved healthcare, and stability.

Following this crisis, World Vision has been able to sustain retaliation to the Venezuelan migrants from January 2019. The organization has helped approximately 250,000 people through certain initiatives focused on education, food security, protection of children, and livelihoods in Latin America, inclusive of Venezuela (Daniels 1023). In 2020 when Covid-19 was announced and declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), many Venezuelans have encountered employment challenges. They now live in inferior conditions increasing the vulnerability of contracting the disease and could lead to the citizens suffering further social and economic impacts.

Following this pandemic, cash transfer by the World Vision and food donations has become crucial. Thus, through the vision fund kitty, the World Vision organization is a vital element in combatting food shortage and healthcare in vulnerable communities in Venezuela during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic and during economic crisis brought by bad governance corruption, drug trafficking, and political instability (Barráez and Chirinos-Leañez).

Unemployment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic can be reduced by observing the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). They include: washing hands/sanitizing, wearing masks properly, covering nose and mouth, and maintaining social distance. By observing these guidelines, the rate of infections will decrease. If the discipline is maintained, day-to-day resumption will lead to massive re-employment in various fields, thus reducing the current unemployment rate.

According to Venezuela Investigative Unit, Southern Venezuela has become a battlefield between drug traffickers and illegal gold miners, and the Venezuelan forces. This leads to the region being primarily governed by organized criminal gangs. These gangs control the economy; thus, the government and the residents have little revenue from the goldfields. This leads to a high rate of unemployment in the region and a lack of sound healthcare systems. The common criminal gang is known as Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional-ELN that operates in 13 out of 24 states in the Venezuelan republic. Out of these states, southern regions give them 60% illicit profit earned from drug trafficking and illegal gold mining. Hence, to curb this, the government should eliminate or try to eradicate such groups' dominance and create employment for the locals.

Works Cited

Barráez, Daniel, and Ana María Chirinos-Leañez. "The Economic Impact Of COVID-19 On Venezuela: The Urgency of External Financing". UNDP, 2020, https://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/rblac/en/home/library/crisis_prevention_and_recovery/el-impacto-economico-del-covid-19-en-venezuela--la-urgencia-del-.html.

Daniels, Joe Parkin. "Venezuelan migrants "struggling to survive" amid COVID-19." The Lancet 395.10229 (2020): 1023.

Standley, Claire J, et al. "Data and cooperation required for Venezuela's refugee crisis during COVID-19." Globalization and Health 16.103 (2020).

Venezuela Investigative Unit. Southern Venezuela: A ‘Gold Mine’ for Organized Crime. 8 March 2019. HYPERLINK "https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/southern-venezuela-south-america-organized-crime-gold%20mine/" \l ":~:text=Drug%20trafficking%2C%20battles%20between%20state,state%20ruled%20by%20organized%20crime.&text=In%20particular%2C%20the%20guerrillas%20earn,illicit." https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/southern-venezuela-south-america-organized-crime-gold mine/#:~:text=Drug%20trafficking%2C%20battles%20between%20state,state%20ruled%20by%20organized%20crime.&text=In%20particular%2C%20the%20guerrillas%20earn,illicit.