Today is one step in the long process of addressing the refugee and public health crisis caused by the Maduro regime, so I look forward to follow-up efforts. I personally commit to all of you that the United States government and my department will remain engaged on this crisis—I suspect, for some time.
As Prepared for Delivery
Thank you all for traveling here today, and thank you to the Government of Peru for hosting us.
This meeting is a significant achievement and it follows high-level cooperation over the past several months to address the health crisis in our hemisphere. That collaborative work has included meetings in Washington held by PAHO and the United States government last November, followed by meetings hosted by the OAS in February.
The United States strongly supports today’s event, and worked with Peru and other countries to bring it about, because we are deeply concerned about the situation in Venezuela and around the region.
I personally have been vocal about the crisis created by the Maduro regime, and its resulting public health effects, and many of you have been vocal as well.
This crisis threatens not just the people of Venezuela but our collective health, security, and prosperity. The resulting wave of migrants and refugees is impacting all countries that are hosting Venezuelans, and not just Venezuela’s immediate neighbors. As of February 2019, the U.N. estimated that 3.4 million Venezuelans are now outside of Venezuela. By December, they predict it will be 5.3 million.
Many individuals are arriving in your countries with illnesses, either infectious diseases that cannot be managed in Venezuela or chronic, non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer, and hypertension that have worsened due to poor diet and lack of reliable access to medications.
The threat of infectious disease is particularly alarming. We’re seeing thousands of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases that were previously rare or entirely eliminated, such as measles and diphtheria, arriving in border areas and being spread through local communities.
This is precisely the kind of crisis we as health ministries must come together to address and prevent.
For our part, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been providing extensive training and technical assistance to address public health needs across the region.
We are working closely with PAHO and a number of ministries of health to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, vaccine work, laboratory capacity, and public health preparedness.
The U.S. Department of State, through the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, is providing emergency food assistance and health services to refugees and migrants in crisis situations. The U.S. Agency for International Development is prioritizing emergency food assistance and urgently needed health services in communities hosting vulnerable Venezuelans.
Earlier this month at the U.N., Vice President Mike Pence announced nearly $61 million in new U.S. government funding for humanitarian efforts to address the regional crisis.
It is important that this work be channeled through a strategic framework, which I am glad many of us have worked together to create. At the meeting the U.S. government hosted in Washington, we laid out three particular areas that will be discussed today: cross-border collaboration on vaccine-preventable diseases, health system resilience, and public health and social services.
These are all vital parts of addressing the crisis. As we watch events today and tomorrow, I repeat Secretary Pompeo’s message this morning on Twitter: “The U.S. Government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be defeated.”
We hope and pray we will once again have a legitimate, democratic government in control, and then our next stage of work together begins, perhaps even quite soon. All of us will need to be strong advocates within our respective governments for the funding and attention needed to help Venezuela rebuild, but it will also require collaborations across sectors.
Multilateral organizations, governments, NGOs, and private industry must all contribute in various ways. We will also need the contributions of Venezuela’s health workers, whether they have fled to countries in this room or remain in the country without pay or resources.
To address today’s urgent crisis and lay the foundation for this future work, we need the engagement, expertise, and perspectives of everyone present. No single sector or country has all the answers.
Building on what was discussed at the staff level yesterday, our goal is to identify specific areas where we need to work together to implement regional solutions.
Today is one step in the long process of addressing the refugee and public health crisis caused by the Maduro regime, so I look forward to follow-up efforts. I personally commit to all of you that the United States government and my department will remain engaged on this crisis—I suspect, for some time.
I look forward to discussing some of the specific health issues we face and how we can support each other. Most of all, I look forward to the day when the long-suffering people of Venezuela have emerged from this crisis, and we can work directly with Venezuelans to achieve a shared goal of health and prosperity for all.
