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Highlights
The floods caused by the coastal El Niño phenomenon between January and March 2017 affected 1.9 million people in Peru, nearly a third of them children. Thousands of families lost their homes and sources of income, leaving many children in need of urgent assistance.
In 2017, UNICEF provided humanitarian assistance in the sectors of Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Protection, Nutrition, Health and Education, reaching nearly 194,000 people in the most affected districts of Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad regions.
In 2018, UNICEF completed work to improve access to WASH services in shelters and affected communities in Catacaos and Cura Mori districts in Piura, including:
Water
• UNICEF transferred two temporary water networks to the district Municipality of Cura Mori that will benefit 2,600 people in seven community shelters.
• UNICEF supported water quality monitoring, benefiting 1,727 families.
• UNICEF distributed 733 water containers and installed 1,634 showers.
Sanitation
• UNICEF installed gender and disability-sensitive latrines, reaching 799 families.
Hygiene
• UNICEF disseminated information on hygiene and vector control best practices through capacity-building for community-based hygiene committees and promoters, benefiting 1,969 families.
• UNICEF complemented the information with distribution of 760 hygiene kits.
• UNICEF strengthened solid waste management systems and distributed waste bags, reaching 432 families.
To mark the one-year anniversary of the emergency, UNICEF released a video of singer-songwriter and national UNICEF Ambassador Gian Marco, visiting affected areas of Piura. The video reached over 105,000 hits and nearly 30,000 video plays on social media.
Situation in Numbers
628,340 children affected
1,928,016 people affected
169 deaths
65,942 collapsed/uninhabitable houses
381,076 affected houses
456 collapsed/uninhabitable schools
3,703 affected schools
71 collapsed/uninhabitable health facilities
1,159 affected health facilities
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs (02 January to 31 March 2018)
According to the National Civil Defence Institute (INDECI), as of 24 January 2018, the coastal El Niño phenomenon has affected more than 1.9 million people, with 35% of them living in Piura, 29% in La Libertad, 10% in Lambayeque, 10% in Ancash, 5% in Lima and another 5% in Tumbes. An estimated 628,340 children are among the affected population, including 206,298 children under the age of five. INDECI also reports that 65,942 houses have collapsed or are uninhabitable, 381,076 houses have been affected, 456 schools have collapsed or are uninhabitable, 3,703 schools have been affected, 71 health centres have collapsed or are uninhabitable and 1,159 health centres have been affected.
The Government of Peru extended the National State of Emergency in Piura Region for a period of 45 calendar days starting on 8 February 2017. This extension facilitated the continued implementation of response and recovery actions. At the request of Piura’s regional health office, the Ministry of Health declared a new health emergency in Piura region on 24 February 2018 for 90 days, allocating approximately US$ 2.5 million to strengthen efforts to eradicate the Aedes Aegypti mosquito and prevent an epidemic outbreak of dengue. The Ministry approved an action plan to address the health emergency in the provinces of Piura, Sullana, Talara, Paita, Sechura, Morropón, Huancabamba and Ayabaca. The plan aims to reduce dengue, Zika and chikungunya infections through epidemiological monitoring, research and vector control, providing health services, strengthening community participation in disease prevention and control, among other actions.
On 23 March 2018, Martin Vizcarra – who had been serving as Peru’s Vice President and Ambassador to Canada – was sworn in as the new President of Peru following Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s resignation. President Vizcarra visited Piura on 27 March 2018 to monitor the state of reconstruction a year after the emergency was declared in the region.