Giving Compass' Take:

• The World Bank and International Monetary Fund both announced they will offer aid to Venezuela if the government asks them for help.

• What are the issues that lead to the Venezuelan crisis? Where can donors help?

• Read about why we need to treat Venezuela as a protracted refugee crisis.

As the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in Venezuela, both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that they are willing to get involved if called upon by the government, according to Yahoo News.

The Venezuelan economy shrunk by 18% last year, and is forecasted to shrink by another 25% this year. More urgently, millions of Venezuelans are struggling to get enough to eat, millions more have fled the country, health care has become exceedingly difficult to access, schools are vacant, and families are increasingly having trouble accessing water and sanitation.

An intervention by the two global financial institutions in the form of loans and other measures could help to temporarily stabilize the country, but they can’t act until requested by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"The bank will be involved as the situation evolves and the bank is preparing for that, but the situation is still very troublesome on the ground in Venezuela," World Bank Group president David Malpass said at a news conference at the organization’s Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

The uncertainty surrounding the country’s leadership also presents an obstacle to providing aid.

Dozens of countries, including the United States, have acknowledged Juan Guaidó, the head of Venezuela's congress, as the president after he declared himself the interim president, claiming the current president Nicolas Maduro is illegitimate.

Read the full article about aid for Venezuela by Joe McCarthy at Global Citizen