In July, the typical Venezuelan food basket was calculated at approximately 2,620,000 bolivares. The minimum wage of workers is 40,000 bolivares, (the equivalent of $3 USD). This means that Venezuelans need 65.5 times their salary just to cover their food expense.
Public hospitals are in a deplorable and decaying state. There are no medical supplies and primary care is basically non-existent. Private clinics have a similar and very critical situation. Payments for services are priced in dollars and patients must bring their own medical supplies for surgeries and other medical procedures like chemotherapy.
In respect to the food sector, there are no supplies. When they do arrive, they are out of reach to 95% of the population. In popular classes, the regime pretends to maintain political control through the distribution of CLAP boxes (Cajas CLAP) with foreign products of very little quality, full of carbohydrates and very unhealthy. This system scarcely covers, irregularly, 30% of the population.
Zuila is dying. The most rich and productive state of the country has become a no-man's land.
It is for this reason that we are coordinating shipments containing food, personal hygiene products and some medical supplies to Venezuela. We are working together with “Iglesia La Cruz,”Venezuela’s largest church with approximately 3,000 active members, and the International Ministry.