Highlights
• During April, clashes between protesters and security forces were reported in four states. According to media reports, seven people died and over 200 were injured. In addition, 23 adolescents were reported arrested. All detained adolescents received legal assistance with support from UNICEF.
• The Coordination for Cooperation and Assistance Team (ECCA by its Spanish acronym) is currently leading the development of an inter-agency response plan, which will be finalized by mid-June. The sectoral lead agencies are consulting with national authorities, as well as NGO partners and UN agencies for its development. During the second half of April, UNICEF led the consultations in the WASH, education, nutrition and child protection sectors for the response plan at the national and field level.
• UNICEF continued its programme response scale up in April. UNICEF provided safe water through daily chlorination of water trucks in vulnerable communities for approximately 52,000 people. Chlorinated water was provided in UNICEFsupported water tanks in hospitals providing safe drinking water for 5,700 patients, health staff and other users. Aquatab distribution reached more than 15,400 people.
• Over 11,000 students received early childhood development (ECD) and recreational kits. Additionally, teachers were trained in 25 public elementary schools.
• With UNICEF support, 72,996 boys and girls from 7 to 15 years old had been vaccinated against diphtheria in 2019, as reported by the Ministry of Health.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
April 2019
Inside Venezuela*:
3.2 million # of children in need of assistance (Preliminary UN estimate)
7 million # of people in need of assistance (Preliminary UN estimate)
- the UN Country Team is working through the sectors to finalize the estimates in preparation for the interagency response plan.
Outside Venezuela:
3.7 million # of refugees and migrants from Venezuela worldwide (Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform, Apr. 2019)
UNICEF Financial Ceiling 2018-2019 US$ 32 million
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
During April, the situation in Venezuela continued to be marked by the consequences of the March power outages, as utility services were not fully functional, especially outside the capital. UNICEF field offices report that water systems have been partially restored to pre-blackout conditions (regular service in Caracas but intermittent in other states) but that electricity provision remains unstable, negatively affecting access to goods and services for children and their families. In Zulia -one of UNICEF’s prioritized areas- limited and irregular availability of electricity has affected all kinds of services including: banking, commerce and access to food, water pumping systems, as well as the overall health system. In Táchira State, availability of electricity was irregular, particularly in border areas, while in Bolivar State the availability of water services, which rely on electricity, was sporadic.
Food security and nutrition conditions are expected to deteriorate, as food prices increased with inflation, which towards the end of April was driven by expectations of a minimum wage increase.
During April, UNICEF programmes expanded their response to address failures in the water provision system by providing support to water and sanitation services through supplies, repairs and community engagement. In addition, even though some stocks of vaccines have been delivered, power failure impacted cold chain storage thus delaying distribution. UNICEF and WHO, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, are engaging in an operational plan to enable planned vaccination campaigns for May and June.
In terms of people in need, the UN Country Team is working through the sectors and consultations with relevant government institutions to finalize the updated estimates in preparation for the inter-agency response plan, expected for early June.