UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations said on Thursday that so far 2.3 million people have fled the socio-economic crisis in Venezuela, mainly to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
"People cite lack of food as their main reason for fleeing, with reportedly 1.3 million people suffering from malnourishment," said UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "There are also severe shortages of basic medicines and medical supplies, which have led to a sharp deterioration of the quality of care in hospitals."
"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that as of June 2018, an estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans, out of the 32.8 million population have fled the country mainly to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil," he told reporters here at a regular briefing in UN Headquarters.
"OCHA says that there are more than 100,000 HIV/AIDS patients at risk due to lack of access to necessary medication, and that the formerly eradicated diseases of measles, malaria, tuberculosis and diphtheria are present and on the rise," he said.
"The United Nations and humanitarian partners also said that needs among the migrant population include assistance with legal status, documentation, shelter, access to health care and other basic services," the spokesman said, citing OCHA, based at the UN Headquarters.
The exodus began in 2015 with hyper inflation and a collapse of the currency when the government had trouble importing enough food and medicine.
