Local organizations reach remote communities in need
Venezuela | 2023 | VHF
Venezuela. As 2023 begins, 7.7 million people need humanitarian assistance in Venezuela due to prolonged economic problems, chronic inflation, and sectoral sanctions, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, political polarization and localized violence.
“Given the situation in the country, we have had to learn a new way to do our work and be present in the community, specifically around implementing humanitarian projects,” says Nhelsyr González, director of local organization Acción Campesina.
The Venezuela Humanitarian Fund (VHF) has prioritized funding local organizations. This has helps empower Venezuelan NGOs to deliver the assistance people so desperately need.
The most critical needs relate to food insecurity and access to basic services, as well as protection risks for people on the move. “Working with the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund has been critical because it has allowed us to continue working, and to ensure families have enough to eat and safe water,” added Ms. González.
Working directly with local partners also allows donors to support work in the most remote areas, where international organizations may not have a strong presence.
“The VHF funds projects in the most remote areas of Venezuela,” says Daniela Inajosa, Director of local organization Tinta Violeta, which does protection work to combat gender-based violence.
“It’s critical that VHF continues to receive support – because they have done something really important: they have focused on local organizations and strengthened our ability to deliver. This allows us to respond in a more effective and resilient way.”
In 2022, 66% of VHF’s first funding round, and 73% of the second went directly to local organizations. This allows the best-placed partners to support the most vulnerable people and helps local organizations pivot to or strengthen existing humanitarian programming.
December 2022
More information on the VHF: https://www.unocha.org/venezuela/about-vhf