Today, the United States announced nearly $16 million in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans who have fled their country due to the crisis there.

This funding from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development includes a contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)'s regional response to the Venezuela crisis and humanitarian aid to Venezuelans and host communities in Colombia and Brazil. This assistance will help provide the people of Venezuela safe drinking water, hygiene supplies, shelter, protection from violence and exploitation, and work and education opportunities, in coordination with other humanitarian organizations and government partners.

This funding is in addition to the $2.5 million for emergency food and health assistance the United States provided last month and the more than $3 million we provided to UNHCR that assisted Venezuelans in FY 2017.

In total, the U.S. humanitarian response to the Venezuela crisis comes to more than $21 million since FY 2017.

The United States remains very concerned about the struggle Venezuelan citizens face every day to meet their families' basic needs. As a hemisphere we must increase our support for the well-being of the Venezuelan people and the restoration of their democracy.

We greatly appreciate the generosity and compassion of countries throughout the hemisphere who are hosting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing the crisis in their country. These include Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Guyana, Suriname, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, and Curacao. We commend the humanitarian contributions made by all donors, and encourage additional contributions to meet growing humanitarian needs.