Guyana challenged to increase access to education for Venezuelan refugees

Dec 21, 2018 News

United Nations (UN) officials are asking Guyana and other countries in the region to provide more access to education services to Venezuelans who are fleeing economic and political turmoil.
UNHCR, the UN’s Refugee Agency, has issued a special action plan for Venezuelan refugees that set targets for the Caribbean for 2019. Child protection and increased access to education are key priorities.
The action plan sets out that children and youth, including those traveling without family members or care-givers, will have access to protection, appropriate care, and inclusive quality education services.
“A community-based approach will be applied, in conjunction with specialized case management, to ensure access to education and social services and protection according to the best interests of the child principle,” the U.N states.
Providing an assessment of the current situation, the U.N notes that the lack of or limited access to formal schooling is leaving many Venezuelan children without education, exacerbating their exposure to various protection risks, including negative coping mechanisms.
The U.N estimates that a Caribbean response in 2019 will cost, at minimum, US $34M, based on the projection that the refugee and migrant population from Venezuela will grow to around 222,000 by the end of 2019, with irregular arrivals expected to continue.
Officials are keen to galvanize support for Guyana and other countries in the region.
Among this population, around 177,500 refugees and migrants from Venezuela are estimated to require assistance throughout the upcoming year.
It is also estimated that US $10.1M, the largest chunk of the overall financial needs, is required for direct emergency assistance.
The U.N cautioned that a scale-up of the direct emergency and protection response, as well as increased support for socio-economic and cultural inclusion mechanisms, is urgently required to complement governments’ efforts and to ensure communities continue to receive refugees and migrants from Venezuela.
Regionally, the report noted that in recent years Aruba, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago have been hosting growing numbers of refugees and migrants from Venezuela.
It is estimated that around 147,000 individuals will have arrived by air, land, and sea by the end of 2018, including some returnees in Guyana.
The agency notes that there is a need in some states to develop or improve standard operating procedures for registration, identification, documentation and referral of victims of human trafficking.
Access to sufficient food and nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, and safe shelter are reported to be the most pressing needs by refugees and migrants from Venezuela in the sub-region.

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Guyana challenged to increase access to education for Venezuelan refugees

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