Topic: 2026 – Combating Malnutrition
Country: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Lucia Ruiz
2/8/26
Submitted To: UNICEF
From: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Lucia Ruiz
Subject: Combatting Malutrition
Venezuela’s children are currently being impacted by malnutrition which has been caused by the economic decline in the past decade. The poverty rate as of 2024 is 73.2% while extreme poverty falls at 36.5%. The inflation rate weighs in at 682.1% (annual percentage change as of 2026) . As a result, with such high prices, the people cannot afford an everyday life for themselves or their families, and this leaves citizens struggling to obtain food. Considering current events such as the state of the Venezuelan government with the kidnapping of our president Nicolas Maduro, the poverty rate will likely increase as well which raises concern for the wellbeing of the citizens.
While we as a nation have some food distribution programs in place domestically, these are not enough to combat the larger issue. One such organization is CLAP, which is a Venezuelan food distribution programme that provides food packages to the most vulnerable parts of the population. This is one of the several government run food programs and this program does provide food, but it has been proven to be corrupt by a network of people including government officials and Alex Nain Saab a Colombian buisiness man (who orchestrated the corruption). The program still operates today despite this setback as well as several other food programs just through the Venezuelan government like Mercal (subsidized markets) and PDVAL (focus on selling food/essential items at affordable non-inflated prices).
Outside of these national food services international programs have also stepped in. Notable programs include UNICEF and World Food Programme. UNICEF has called for rapid implementation of a short term response to counter malnutrition along with collaborating with the Ministry of Health, National Institute of Nutrition and civil society organizations to create strategies to combat malnutrition at the community level. The World Food Programme has contributed the school meals programme that has reached over 330,000 students already. They have also created smaller programs to both ensure the implementation of these programs and mitigate malnutrition among local communities.
Regarding aid given by allies Russia and China are in tough positions currently. Russia is at war with Ukraine leaving them not capable of providing aid and China is in a tough position economically with the U.S placing them on thin ice. Although many countries have condemned the U.S for their interference in Venezuela.
Creating a framework/guidelines for the distribution and implementation of all future aid would be in favor of the citizens. Forming a solid process to implement moving forward to prevent the issues that have occurred obtaining aid would hopefully create a faithful distribution system. Once the distribution system is reformed it will aid in the overall treatment of malnutrition across the country. To create another layer of trust in the process, annual reports could be taken on the effectiveness and quality of aid(overall) and distribution by Unicef. If not up to standard the country could face legal punishment.
Ensuring children’s nutrition should be a top priority to create a bright future for the country of Venezuela. The population of Venezuela is around 28 million and out of the 28 million people 5.1 million require urgent food assistance. Action must be taken to improve the state of our country for all citizens including children. We are prepared to work with other countries to create a viable long-term solution and a strong foundation for standard aid distribution.
Work Cited
Statista. “Venezuela: Household Poverty Rate 2002-2024.” Statista, 20 Jan. 2026, www.statista.com/statistics/1235189/household-poverty-rate-venezuela/?srsltid=AfmBOoqEJYKIje7O1SkrasFlILzvQBid1mghmpVZ2cyC94M04tAmNHRE.
“Venezuela Datasets.” International Monetary Fund, 2026, www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/VEN.
Technical Difficulties. ve.usembassy.gov/treasury-disrupts-corruption-network-stealing-from-venezuelas-food-distribution-program-clap.
Paredes, Norberto. Has Venezuela Been Ditched by Its Strongest Allies – Russia and China? 13 Dec. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c075mr3190mo.
Dyvik, Einar H. “Poverty and Inequality in Venezuela – Statistics &Amp; Facts.” Statista, 14 Jan. 2026, www.statista.com/topics/11572/poverty-and-inequality-in-venezuela/?srsltid=AfmBOoqnxdG4eQlYP1H59IUEcSwGJHtsquseBf3dAOcOVzwBKP8j3Mar#topicOverview.
“Venezuela | World Food Programme.” UN World Food Programme (WFP), 27 Mar. 2025, www.wfp.org/countries/venezuela-bolivarian-republic.
“In Venezuela, Prevalence of Malnutrition Among Children Grows as Economic Crisis Deepens.” UNICEF, 26 Jan. 2018, www.unicef.org/press-releases/venezuela-prevalence-malnutrition-among-children-grows-economic-crisis-deepens.
