The Catholic Diocese of Cúcuta in Colombia says it has provided one million meals to Venezuelan migrants affected by the humanitarian crisis in their country. The diocese on March 18 thanked the volunteers and donors who since June 5, 2017, have provided support to those affected by the emergency at the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Catholic News Agency reported.

“As the Holy Father Francis has well reminded us, the Church is like a field hospital where wounded people come, seeking the goodness and closeness of God,” Bishop Víctor Manuel Ochoa Cadavid said.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world and is not engulfed in conflict, The New Humanitarian reported on March 19.

Yet its people have been fleeing on a scale and at a rate comparable in recent memory only to South Sudanese or Syrians at the height of their civil wars and the Rohingya from Myanmar, said the crisis journalism portal.

Since Nicolas Maduro succeeded Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela in 2013, the country has been marred by violence and social upheaval, CNA reported.

Under the government, which says it is socialist, hyperinflation and severe shortages of food, medicine, and other necessities, have afflicted the country and millions of Venezuelans have emigrated.