The World Food Program says it has delivered a first batch of food for thousands of school children in Venezuela.
By Voice of America – Lisa Schlein
Jul 3, 2021
The delivery follows a deal concluded earlier this year between the U.N. food agency and the government of Venezuela.
Schools in Venezuela currently are closed. So, World Food Program spokesman Tomson Phiri says his agency will provide take-home rations, which families will pick up at the schools where the children are enrolled.
“Our plan is to start, is to reach gradually 185,000 people, including children under the age of six and school staff by the end of the year,” Phiri said. “The ration that I have spoken about is enough to cover a child for 30 days, which is a month.”
Venezuela’s once prosperous economy has been in free-fall since President Nicolas Maduro came to power more than eight years ago. The United Nations says more than 5.3 million people have fled the country because of political repression and harsh economic conditions.
Official figures about the health status of Venezuelans are not available. A WFP study in 2020 suggests, however, one in three Venezuelans do not have enough nutritious food to eat daily.
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