Food grows scarcer for thousands of Venezuelan families after earthquakes

Before the disaster, the World Food Programme (WFP) was already assisting around 500,000 people through school meals and community support. Now, the agency is shifting its work toward emergency assistance.

Holding his three young children by the hand, one stricken father told UN humanitarian teams he no longer had shelter, water or food.

The children's mother had been hospitalized in Caracas, and the family had lost neighbours and relatives under the rubble.

Hungry and homeless

The scene, described from La Guaira by WFP's Director in Venezuela, Stephanie Hochstetter, captures a new urgency after the earthquakes: for many families, surviving the disaster also means figuring out where the next meal will come from.

“It's heartbreaking to see the desperation,” she said, speaking at a virtual press briefing for UN correspondents from one of the integrated service centres the UN has set up in the region.

WFP has already distributed emergency food packages to 1,200 people in La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas, and is preparing to scale up assistance to reach half a million people in shelters over the next three months.

“The needs for food, safe water, shelter and essential services are immediate and critical,” Ms. Hochstetter said, speaking from the coastal state.

Uncertainty reigns

At the centres set up after the earthquakes, some families can still cook. The problem is that many can no longer buy food regularly.

The destruction of homes and infrastructure, combined with lost income and disrupted services, has left thousands of people in a state of extreme uncertainty.

WFP is distributing both ready-to-eat products and food families can prepare themselves.

The agency currently has more than 3,000 tonnes of food inside Venezuela, enough to feed over 10,000 families for two months. It is also purchasing supplies locally and maintains reserves in Colombia that could be reallocated quickly if needs exceed the country's available capacity.

Initial appeal

WFP has launched an initial $15 million appeal to provide emergency food, logistical support and emergency communications to up to half a million people over the next three months.

The figure is a first estimate. Needs could grow as humanitarian teams reach isolated communities and finish assessing damage in the areas hit hardest by the quakes.

Ms. Hochstetter warned the emergency will not end once attention to the earthquakes fades.

“What we have learned from other earthquakes of this magnitude is that when the spotlight fades, the needs do not disappear,” she said.

Reserves ready to move

The ports of La Guaira and Puerto Cabello remain operational for humanitarian assistance, keeping open a key route for food and other supplies to arrive.

Beyond reserves inside Venezuela and Colombia, more than 1,400 tonnes of relief items from various organizations are stored at WFP's regional logistics hub in Panama, ready to be dispatched.

The agency is working with authorities and other humanitarian partners at integrated service points where food and other basic services are distributed. Reaching more remote communities, however, will require dedicated operations, as many families cannot travel to these centres.

The immediate priority is preventing the loss of a home or a family member from turning into a prolonged hunger crisis.