President Piñera supervises first shipment of humanitarian aid for Venezuela: “It reflects our moral commitment to solidarity.”
A shipment of 8.6 tons of food, medical supplies and hygiene products is being sent to the Colombian city of Cúcuta on the Venezuelan border. President Piñera will arrive on Friday to personally deliver the humanitarian aid and express his support and solidarity
On Thursday night, President Sebastián Piñera helped load the first flight carrying food and medical supplies that will form part of the global humanitarian aid effort for Venezuela.
The shipment of 8.6 tons of products will arrive in the Colombian city of Cúcuta on the Venezuelan border, where the President will deliver the aid on Friday.
“We have a moral obligation of solidarity to contribute humanitarian aid when a Latin American brother country like Venezuela is suffering from a humanitarian crisis in which a lack of food and medicine is threatening the lives of its inhabitants”, said the President at Group 10 of the Chilean Air Force, where he oversaw the loading of the shipment.
“I want to ask all of those who have the opportunity to help to allow humanitarian aid to reach Venezuela. The Venezuelan people need it and they need it urgently”, added the President, who was accompanied by Foreign Relations Minister Roberto Ampuero and Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick.
The flight carried 700 child hygiene kits and 200 food kits designed to meet Sphere standards, a set of minimum standards designed to improve the quality of assistance provided in core humanitarian aid areas.
The food kit meets the needs of a family of four and includes flour, sugar, noodles, rice, tuna, jack mackerel, powdered milk, tea, coffee, marmalade and crackers.
The children’s kits, which are designed for children between the ages of 5 and 9, include liquid soap, shampoo, a tooth brush and toothpaste and other products meant to provide proper hygiene for 30 days.
The list of medical supplies was designed by specialists from the Health Ministry. It includes an antibiotic, two medications for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary illness, an antispasmodic and analgesic, an antiseptic agent, supplies for wound cleaning and disinfection and a diuretic to treat heart failure and hypertension. These products are in high demand in catastrophe situations and are part of the request received from Venezuela.
The President will personally deliver the aid this Friday in Cúcuta at the invitation of Colombian President Iván Duque. “This is an essential part of the principles of Chilean foreign policy. Having a firm, clear commitment to defending freedom, democracy and Human Rights reflects the thinking of the vast majority of Chileans”, Piñera remarked.