UNICEF is appealing for
more than US$70 million to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to
900,000 children across Venezuela through the end of the year. New funding in
the coming weeks is essential for UNICEF and its partners to meet the critical
humanitarian needs of children and families inside the country.
“Some 3.2 million children
in Venezuela need humanitarian aid as conditions across the country continue to
deteriorate,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“We are ramping up our
work to help children and families who are struggling against food shortages
and limited access to essential services like healthcare, safe water and
education.”
At least 4.3 million
people across Venezuela do not have access to safe drinking water;
vaccine-preventable diseases including measles and diphtheria have re-emerged,
while yellow fever and malaria are on the rise. An estimated 1.3 million children
and adolescents need protection services, while over 1 million children are out
of school.
In line with 2019
Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Venezuela launched by the United Nations
and its partners, UNICEF’s priorities for the remainder of the year
include: Providing 800,000 people with access to safe drinking
water; Continuing to rehabilitate the vaccine cold chain; Vaccinating
more than 1,200,000 children under 5 years against measles and ensuring
treatment for 7,000 children under 5 years suffering from severe or moderate
malnutrition.
Others include
distributing education materials to 680,000 children aged 4-18 years; reaching
216,000 children with psychosocial and protection support; and providing over
170,000 pregnant women and newborn babies with health assistance.
These efforts build on
UNICEF’s existing programmatic reach which has increased steadily over the past
year to meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable children. Since 2018,
UNICEF has shipped nearly 200 tons of basic health, nutrition, education,
water, and sanitation relief supplies to Venezuela.
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