GENEVA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Colombia is facing a major crisis as thousands of people from Venezuela continue to cross the border daily due to lack of food, medicine and other basic needs, a World Food Program spokesperson said Friday.
"The mass exodus... is expected to continue," said WFP senior spokesperson Herve Verhoosel at a UN media briefing here.
He noted that Colombians and their government are doing all they can to step up to this challenge of the exodus from Venezuela.
"The country has made progress in its peace process and ending hunger; however as the migration crisis grows in proportion, it jeopardizes recent gains," said Verhoosel.
He said the Colombian Government has asked the United Nations for support with the influx of migrants.
WFP said it is committed to assisting Colombia and to contribute to an Integrated UN Response Plan to address food security, health, nutrition and education.
The crisis is affecting Colombian host families and communities receiving large numbers of migrants, particularly indigenous communities which welcome new arrivals but face very difficult living conditions, said WFP.
"We must help people trapped in what has become a regional crisis. Migrants are increasingly using Colombia as a corridor to enter Ecuador, Peru and other countries in South America, overwhelming host governments," said Verhoosel.
In August the United Nations said that 2.3 million people have fled Venezuela, mainly to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
WFP said that migrants are highly vulnerable and usually women are the heads of the most vulnerable families, who have limited access to basic services "and face risks, such as being recruited into sex work or by armed groups".
