The outbreak of COVID-19 in South America has strongly affected the situation of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. Colombia and Peru reported their first confirmed coronavirus case on the same day, 6 March. Both countries adopted preventative measures shortly after. On 15 March, the government of Peru declared a state of emergency, closed its borders and imposed mandatory self-isolation for the entire population starting from the following day. Colombia sealed its border with Venezuela on 14 March, while other border crossings followed suit, and declared a mandatory country-wide quarantine starting 25 March. Humanitarian actors in the region have been working to adapt their activities to the current situation and the data collected through this survey aims to inform their work.

Recommendations

• Increase cash assistance to vulnerable refugees and migrants, to avoid negative coping mechanism due to loss of income.

• Create or strengthen programmes aimed at facilitating access to housing, either through cash assistance or other mechanisms.

• Minimise costs and barriers for sending money to family and friends in Venezuela by promoting the development and use of fast and low-cost remittance channels, including through new technologies such as mobile money transfers.

Profiles

This snapshot focuses on the impact that the current COVID-19 pandemic had on the journey and daily life of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Peru and Colombia. The analysis is based on 313 interviews conducted between 6 and 23 April 2020: 250 in Colombia and 63 in Peru. 67% of respondents were women and 33% men. The average age was 33.5 years old