Misery, hunger, and malnutrition: this is the current situation of the oil country

In critical condition is the right to a decent and balanced diet for citizens of Venezuela, that is because the country imports more than 80% of the food, and for its population, purchasing power is very low, due to inflation and its constant growth.

Leer en español: Venezuela: el hambre sigue creciendo

Even when the president of that country, Nicolás Maduro has maintained within his policies the consecutive increase in the monthly minimum wage every two or three months, as part of a conglomeration of policies he calls: "counter-attack to the economic war". For this and its affects, infer the economic situation of Venezuela, (fall in GDP and inflation) as a systematic attack by its "internal enemies" (Opposition and private sector) in conjunction with its "external enemies" (United States).

Even with the quarterly increase in the minimum wage, Nicolás Maduro does not manage to mitigate hunger in Venezuela. The official figures of the nutritional status in Venezuela, from the studies in different regions of the country, contemplates a desolate landscape and an uncertain future for the children of Venezuela. According to the latest report of the Alert, Monitoring and Nutritional Assistance System (SAMAN) of the Catholic association Cáritas Venezuela:

• 65% of the children evaluated already had some degree of malnutrition or were at risk of having it.
• 32% of children under 6 months were detected moderate and severe acute malnutrition.
• 48% of registered pregnant women were with moderate or severe acute malnutrition.
• 73% of households have had nutritional deprivation.

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Several NGOs and Venezuelan foundations are not the only ones that have remained on alert before such a critical situation. Following the World Food Week and in commemoration of World Food Day, on October 16, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its global reports, specifically on The latest publication of food security and nutrition in the world, puts the Venezuelan scenario in an alarming position. Noting that since 2010 people with hunger have increased 4 times, and since 2017, out of all South America, Venezuela has 86% of people with hunger. 

The Chavez government, under its socialist premises, has implemented family supply policies, among which are the sale of food boxes within a community framework. As well as, the government of Nicolás Maduro grants "bonds" of money to citizens who have in their possession a social control card, called: Carnet de la Patria.

The Venezuelan population in the context of social media has consistently denounced the inefficiency of the CLAP (Local Supply and Production Committees) program. This entity is responsible for the supply and sale of bags and boxes of food for families belonging to a community organized IGNORE INTO national Chavismo guidelines. But the population has not had a concrete response from President Maduro in the face of growing reports of corruption and poor administration of CLAP.

Venezuela has committed its future as a nation, and the future of its citizens. Children grow under conditions of malnutrition. According to the monitoring of the Cáritas Venezuela Foundation, the growth retardation for these children is 32%. This represents a deficit for the educational and labor development of Venezuelans, human capital as the main resource for the development process of Venezuela, is exposed to survival. The Venezuelans will continue in migratory processes through South America to satisfy a basic need and a human right that the Venezuelan government has broken.

LatinAmerican Post | Gabriela Rivas Colmenárez

Translated from: 'Venezuela: las cifras de desnutrición siguen en aumento'