Southern hemisphere winter increases hardship for displaced Venezuelans
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UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that the onset of winter, compounded by the devastating effects of COVID-19, poses a direct threat to the health and livelihoods of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in southern Latin America.
Nearly two million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have settled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Some of these countries are among those with the highest COVID-19 infection and death counts globally. Venezuelans have mostly been included in national health responses, but with hospitals operating at full capacity, access to treatment for other illnesses, including those associated with the winter season, has become ever more challenging.