It’s urgent we prevent a hunger crisis in the aftermath of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes. Two massive earthquakes struck northern Venezuela on June 24 killing thousands and leaving many families homeless.  

Any time there is a disaster like an earthquake, hunger will soon follow as food supplies are impacted. The UN World Food Program (WFP) is distributing rations in La Guaira, the state most affected by the earthquakes. 

“In La Guaira, homes, markets, and food supplies have been devastated, leaving families with little or nothing to eat,” said Stephanie Hochstetter, WFP Country Director in Venezuela. “Right now, in addition to emergency medical services, access to food, water and shelter are the most urgent priorities.”

Even before the earthquakes hit, millions in Venezuela were suffering from hunger and high food prices. Food needs will increase even more as people have lost their homes, supplies and livelihoods following the quakes. Hunger is a silent crisis within a crisis, but it’s also one that we can stop in Venezuela. It’s a race against time. 

Think about the impact of hunger on children in Venezuela, as malnutrition can cause stunting and even death among the youngest. 

We can prevent a hunger crisis though by supporting relief efforts in Venezuela and make sure they are fully funded. Sadly, the UN World Food Program says it is short on funding for its mission in Venezuela. We can do better. 

You can support WFP and other charities in Venezuela including CARE, Save the Children, UNHCR, International Red Cross, UNICEF, and Catholic Relief Services. World Central Kitchen is feeding the hungry in Venezuela and recently surpassed one million fresh meals served. 

Congress must help by boosting funding for global food aid programs like Food for Peace which can help Venezuela and other countries. Keep in mind there are major hunger emergencies ongoing in Sudan, Haiti, Congo, the Sahel region of Africa, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and other areas. The relief missions in all these countries are experiencing low funding.  

You can contact your elected officials and ask them to do more to support Venezuela and other countries who need humanitarian aid. Food aid programs make up a relatively tiny part of the budget and they are often underfunded. Global food aid can be increased and it would save many lives from hunger.  

Whereas last year saw the tragic elimination of humanitarian aid programs and reduced funding, this year we can increase funding for them all. That is what we should have been doing all along. When there are so many wars and disasters taking place, you have to be increasing humanitarian aid. It saves lives and provides as source of stability amid the tragedies. 

Venezuela has helped us before including supporting the heroic efforts to stop the post World War II famine in 1946. We can certainly help Venezuela today and one urgent way is increasing food aid to end hunger. 

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.” His writings have been published by the Washington Post, Newsweek, History News Network and many other news outlets.