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UN: 2.3M Have Fled Venezuela

by Associated Press

   UNITED NATIONS --

   The United Nations said Tuesday that an estimated 2.3 million
   Venezuelans had fled the country as of June, mainly to Colombia,
   Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.

   U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that those fleeing
   cited lack of food as the main reason for leaving Venezuela, which has
   a population of 32.8 million.

   He said U.N. humanitarian officials reported that 1.3 million of those
   who had fled suffered from malnourishment.

   Dujarric also said severe shortages of basic medicines and medical
   supplies in Venezuela "have led to a sharp deterioration of the quality
   of hospitals.''

   U.N. officials say more than 100,000 HIV/AIDS patients are "at risk''
   because of a lack of access to necessary medication.

   And Dujarric said formerly eradicated diseases, including measles,
   malaria, tuberculosis and diphtheria, "are present and on the rise.''