Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Appeal
Humanitarian Action for Children
UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition, education, health and protection services. Return to main appeal page.
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela snapshot
Appeal highlights
- The lives of children in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela continue to be buffeted by the impact of the country's persistent economic crisis, a structural and situational crisis that has had a deep impact on society and especially on its most vulnerable people: children, those with disabilities and indigenous communities. Purchasing power is low, affecting access to health care, to food, to just about every service a child might need. Access to safe water and sanitation remains irregular and challenging. Immunization coverage is low, and the number of infants born with low birth weight has grown. Children and adolescents are at risk of violence. And an estimated 900,000 children are out of school.
- In 2024, UNICEF will increase the integration and quality of its programming for the most affected populations in the country's most vulnerable regions, building on the geographic reach offered by its field offices. A key goal is addressing underlying risks and reducing humanitarian needs by enhancing access to critical services. This will be done through an integrated package of health, nutrition, education, child protection and WASH services.
- UNICEF requires $147 million to provide life-saving services for 3.1 million people, including 1.7 million children. Without it, UNICEF will be unable to provide life-saving services for children, protect their rights, and maintain their human dignity.
Key planned targets
1.2 million children and women accessing primary health care
300,000 children receiving micronutrient powder
516,500 children receiving individual learning materials
2.2 million people accessing a sufficient quantity and quality of water
Funding requirements for 2024
Country needs and strategy
Humanitarian needs
Despite moderate signs of economic recovery, structural problems and a protracted crisis persist in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Chronic inflation undercuts households’ purchasing power, and the impact of all these factors on children's lives is mounting.
The price of the basic food basket has increased steadily, reaching 112 minimum monthly salaries in June 2023. The difficulties this presents can be found in urban, peri-urban and rural settings; and children, pregnant or lactating women, adolescents and the indigenous population often feel it most acutely.
Economy and income challenges have eroded the country's health infrastructure and essential services. Early pregnancies, irregular antenatal care, infectious diseases and childbirth complications threaten the survival of newborns and mothers, particularly among indigenous populations. The coverage of bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine is still 68 per cent, and that of the third dose of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine is 56 per cent. Only 9 per cent of households are food secure, while 22 per cent are experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity. Around 18 per cent of the population is undernourished as a result of poor access to an affordable, safe and diversified diet. Additionally, 24.2 per cent of women aged 15–19 years are affected by anaemia, and 9.5 per cent of infants are born with low birth weight. The prevalence of stunting in children is 10.5 per cent.
With reduced learning schedules and disruptions, school infrastructure – including critical WASH facilities and services – remains a challenge . An estimated 900,000 children are out of school, and at least 1.3 million are at risk of dropping out, and 270,000 are in conditions of vulnerability. Accelerating the response to the cumulative effects of the learning crisis and leveraging educational quality is paramount.
Children and adolescents are also at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, child labour and trafficking. Particularly for girls and women, the threat of gender-based violence is increasing. Access to safe water and sanitation remains a challenge for most vulnerable communities, with some 4.3 million people in need of safe water. Many households experience irregular access to water and sanitation services and engage in inadequate hygiene practices. The availability of water in health, education and protection facilities is at a critical state.
The country is highly vulnerable to natural hazards, and disasters associated with heavy rains and floods threaten to aggravate the situation further.
UNICEF’s strategy
UNICEF, with a solid geographic footprint in the country in the form of numerous field offices, has refined its focus and defined its scope of action in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, prioritizing territories where it can have greater impact while optimizing resources. UNICEF will continue working to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of life-saving services for children and their families. Multisectoral programmes aims to strengthen these essential services and empower affected communities and families, adolescents and children with the capacity to prevent and respond to health, nutrition and child protection concerns.
UNICEF will continue to support national immunization, strengthen the cold chain capacity for vaccines at the national, regional and local levels, bolster outbreak response capacity and reinforce essential maternal, neonatal and child health services. Services strengthening includes providing equipment and medicines and enhancing the capacities of front-line workers and local health services to guarantee access, continuity and quality of care.
Through an integrated package of services, UNICEF will address acute and severe malnutrition through early detection of wasting and provide quality nutrition care to severely wasted children.
Improving child protection services remains a priority. UNICEF's systemic approach include birth registration and identity; case management for at-risk and vulnerable children, including victims of violence and human trafficking and unaccompanied and separated children; and psychosocial support and mental health care for children and caregivers.
To tackle the learning gap, UNICEF will focus on the acquisition of foundational skills and teacher training for learning recovery, while strengthening the role of the school as a platform for other services, including protection, psychosocial support, health and nutrition. Access to education will be enhanced through distribution of learning kits and rehabilitation of school infrastructure.
UNICEF will provide life-saving WASH services in health-care facilities and schools. This includes critical services and supplies as well as training in infection prevention and control. Recovering water access services in rural and urban communities is a focus. This will be combined with life-saving community-based interventions for hand hygiene and household water treatment and storage.
UNICEF will prioritize gender-transformative programming and community engagement to ensure the participation of women, girls and people with disabilities in decision-making and other processes linked to accountability to affected populations. UNICEF will also raise awareness among local humanitarian actors on protecting people from sexual exploitation and abuse, strengthening mechanisms for reporting such abuse and supporting survivors.
UNICEF will continue leading the Nutrition, Education and WASH Clusters and the Child Protection Area of Responsibility, and will continue actively participating in the Health Cluster and the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility.
Programme targets
Find out more about UNICEF's work
Highlights
Humanitarian Action is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate to realize the rights of every child. This edition of Humanitarian Action for Children – UNICEF’s annual humanitarian fundraising appeal – describes the ongoing crises affecting children in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; the strategies that we are using to respond to these situations; and the donor support that is essential in this response.