Attachments
Highlights
- The overlap of the protracted humanitarian crisis, climate-related emergencies and the aftermath of the July 2024 presidential elections continue to affect children in Venezuela, especially the most vulnerable such as children with disabilities and those in indigenous communities. In 2024, 3.8 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance.
- Venezuela’s post-electoral context resulted in additional logistical and administrative challenges to import essential supplies for life-saving interventions.
- During the year, UNICEF reached 2,154,044 people, including 1,433,182 children (52 per cent girls) with integrated life-saving and humanitarian interventions.
- Current funding shortfalls endanger UNICEF's capacity to guarantee the continuity of critical services and could result in falling back on progress made in recent years. This includes maternal and neonatal emergency health care, the treatment for severe wasting in children under-five, and learning recovery.
SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
As part of its 2024 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal, UNICEF identified 7.7 million people in need, including 3.8 million children.
Out of this population, UNICEF targeted 3.1 million people, including 1,530,200 women/girls (50 per cent) and an estimated 367,250 people with disabilities (12 per cent). These people included 1.7 million children (835,915 girls and 200,620 children with disabilities).
As a result of the multiple overlapping crises and funding constraints, UNICEF was only able to reach 2,154,044 people (69 per cent of the target) with integrated humanitarian interventions from January to December 2024. This includes 1,433,182 children (84 per cent of the target), among which 52 per cent are girls.
In 2024, estimates indicated that Venezuela's Gross Domestic Product increased by six per cent4 and inflationary pressure decreased, reaching 15.5 per cent for the month of October (accumulated for the year) according to official figures and 32.4 per cent according to secondary sources.6 However, the average consumption basket stood at US$ 662.8, equivalent to six integral wages and 270 minimum wages. These variables directly impacted the most vulnerable families, affecting the well-being of children and adolescents.
Humanitarian needs during the year were further impacted by natural disasters. Venezuela experienced 51 tropical waves during the 2024 rainy season, impacting 47 municipalities in 17 of the 24 states with damages to houses, schools, health care facilities, and public services. Over 75,200 people were affected, including 28,400 children. In Sucre, over 40,000 people, including 16,000 children, were affected by the floods in the municipalities of Montes and Valdez (in July) and Mejía (in November). In Zulia, over 21,000 people, including 8,000 children were affected by the recurrent floods in the municipalities of Catatumbo, Colón, and Rosario de Perijá (in August and November).
The civil unrest resulting from the July 2024 presidential elections further disrupted access to essential social services for children, who faced increased protection risks. This context also aggravated the pre-existing logistical and administrative challenges to import essential supplies for UNICEF’s life-saving interventions in the country. These include: rising costs, increased tariffs and bureaucratic hurdles, volatile exchange rates, restricted access to foreign currency, delays stemming from limited commercial air and sea routes, severe gas shortages, and ambiguous regulations.