Venezuelan refugees who cross the border to Colombia often come with nothing but hope. According to official government and UNHCR figures, by mid-2018 there were already over one million Venezuelans in Colombia. There are also 230,000 Colombian returnees from Venezuela.

Conditions are deteriorating daily in the already impoverished regions now overwhelmed by the crisis. Poverty, disease and malnutrition are serious problems. Especially in the border areas of Colombia's second poorest department, La Guajira, there are deficits in all areas. Public services do not have sufficient capacity to care for the families caught up in the crisis.

To ensure that local supply systems in Colombia are strengthened, we are working to improve the current living conditions of the refugees and Colombian returnees from Venezuela in La Guajira. Our focus are in the areas of medical care and meeting basic needs.

In rural areas, we are deploying a mobile medical team that provides medical care and supplies the most vulnerable with medicines, food and supplements. We are carrying out medical check-ups and inform people about important hygiene measures and vaccination precautions so that diseases cannot spread. There have been concerns of the possibility of a measles outbreak, so this is critical. We are also treating the malnourished, especially on women and children, with supplementary medical food. We are providing psychosocial care services carried out by a psychologist and a social worker are critical to those affected by the trauma of having to leave their homeland abruptly. Venezuelan refugees and migrants are also receiving cash assistance to families as well as materials to cover people’s basic needs. For instance, hygiene kits contain soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene articles.

Our relief activities in Riohacha and the surrounding remote areas support vulnerable indigenous peoples, families with pregnant women, children, people with disabilities and the elderly. Overall, we are improving the health of about 12,000 vulnerable refugees, migrants and returnees from Venezuela.