The World Bank has announced a US $ 31.5 million grant to Colombia to serve Venezuelan migrants

The World Bank (WB) announced a $ 31.5 million grant for migrants and refugees in Venezuela and support the efforts of host communities in Colombia.

About 3.7 million people left Venezuela in recent years and that more than 1.2 million are currently living in Colombia, The World Bank said in a statement released Friday.

"These are non-repayable resources that will help finance the major tax effort Colombia made to welcome and help migrants from Venezuela in the best way possible, "said Colombian Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla, who attended the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington.

This financial support is part of a $ 750 million development policy program aimed at contributing to the financial sustainability of Colombiaand which includes a plan to regularize the status of more than 260,000 migrants.

According to the World Bank, the annual cost of hosting this large flow of Venezuelan migrants means Colombia about 0.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP).

According to Axel van Trotsenburg, vice president of the organization for Latin America, the "mbadive and rapid migration" of Venezuela it is an unprecedented humanitarian challenge in the region.

Trotsenburg pointed out that it was the "second most important crisis" of displaced people in the world after that caused by the war in Syria.

The official attended a conference at the WB with Carrasquilla and Ecuador's Minister of the Economy, Richard Martinez, during which they badyzed the problems caused by this flow of displaced people.

The crisis of Venezuela This is one of the main topics of the meeting before the possibility of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic badistance program with the South American country.

In an interview with EFE Thursday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the institution was ready for the day Venezuela "Say: please, come and help us", although he stressed that the necessary support would be "huge".

Venezuela it is going through an acute economic and political crisis, characterized by a deep contraction of GDP and a hyperinflationary spiral, which has caused the scarcity of many commodities.