A/HRC/41/18 legislation and legal documents, medical and forensic reports, media reports (including from social media), videos and photographs. Wherever possible, OHCHR refers to official information and data, but notes that access to such material is limited, as official publications, including statistics, have been scarce, and completely lacking in some areas, since at least 2015. 8. In line with its methodology on human rights monitoring, OHCHR exercised due diligence to assess the credibility and reliability of all sources and cross-checked the information gathered to confirm its validity. OHCHR was able to gather, analyse and verify a substantial body of information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that the patterns described in the present report constitute human rights violations. 9. OHCHR assessed the information it collected in the light of international human rights law as applicable to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and of pertinent domestic legislation. In addition, OHCHR took into account relevant standard-setting instruments recognized as complementary to international norms. II. Economic and social rights 10. Between January 2018 and May 2019, the economic and social crisis deteriorated further as the economy continued to contract, inflation skyrocketed and public revenues dropped with the drastic reduction of oil exports. Venezuelans are facing a range of interrelated violations of their economic and social rights. 11. Despite several increases in the minimum wage by the Government, its purchasing power has decreased to the extent that it can no longer be considered a living wage. In April 2019, the minimum wage was estimated at US$ 7 per month and only covered 4.7 per cent of the basic food basket. 5 Notwithstanding some general government subsidies, people interviewed by OHCHR consistently stressed that their monthly family income was insufficient to meet their basic needs, covering approximately four days of food per month. 12. Misallocation of resources, corruption, a lack of maintenance of public infrastructure and severe underinvestment have resulted in violations of the right to an adequate standard of living, many of which are related to the collapse of public services, such as public transportation, access to electricity, water and natural gas. Since September 2018, members of the Government have begun to speak about the consequences of the economic crisis and to acknowledge certain aspects of the humanitarian situation, particularly food and medicine shortages. The Government affirmed that 75 per cent of the national annual budget is allocated to social expenditure.6 A. Right to food 13. Information verified by OHCHR confirms violations of the right to food, including the State’s obligation to ensure that the population is free from hunger. The main food assistance programme, managed by the Local Committees for Supply and Food Distribution (CLAP), does not meet basic nutritional needs. The Government has not demonstrated that it has used all the resources at its disposal to ensure the progressive realization of the right to food, nor that it has unsuccessfully sought international assistance to address gaps. In the last few months, the Government has requested and accepted aid, though it has been insufficient to meet the needs of the population. 14. Interviewees consistently reported a lack of access to food due to scarcity, as well as unaffordability. The availability of sufficient quality food is deficient, with interviewees reporting eating once, or at most twice, per day, and consuming few proteins or vitamins. Lack of access to food has a particularly adverse impact on women who are the main caregivers and/or heads of households, and who dedicate an average of 10 hours per day 5 6 See http://cenda.org.ve/default.asp. Information provided by the Government. 3