The numbers speak for themselves. In 2019 (before the pandemic), Venezuela was among the five countries with the worst food crises in the world, along with Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Congo. More than nine million Venezuelans (a third of the population) were under acute food insecurity, in need of assistance. Of those 9.3 million, 2.3 million fell into the severe food insecurity category. The nutrition indicators were also clear: 6.3% of children under 5 years old presented acute malnutrition, 30% of children under 5 years of age and 23.9% of women between 15 and 49 years old presented anemia.
All these figures are contained in the GLOBAL REPORT ON FOOD CRISIS, published in 2020 by the Food Security Information Network. This report is the result of a joint and consensual assessment, made by 16 partner organizations, of the acute food insecurity situation all over the world. The report dedicates a special chapter to Venezuela, where it describes the economic and social background of the Venezuelan debacle of recent years, and we refer the interested reader to it:
Beyond the causes of this unfortunate situation and the responsibilities that may be established, it is clear that there is a humanitarian emergency that requires everyone's action. A malnourished child today is destined to become a disabled adult, with serious limitations to become a useful person for society.
What can we do? Here's an idea. To recover a child at risk of malnutrition, there is a protocol that includes the supply of a special nutritional drink daily for 60 days. That drink costs a quarter of a dollar. We are talking about 60 "quarters", dear reader. That is, $ 15 to help a child to come out of his or her condition and prevent acute malnutrition. That is what the SAMAN Project has been doing. And that is the program to which Mejor Venezuela has been sending the resources it collects thanks to the help and collaboration of all.
How many children are you willing to help?
