Manila: An estimated 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children, are in need of humanitarian assistance following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 struck within a minute of each other in the most significant seismic event to affect Venezuela in over a century.
According to Philippines News Agency, preliminary satellite analysis found that nearly one-third of buildings in the worst-hit area assessed so far, Catia La Mar in La Guaira state, have been damaged. "Three days into the response, the scale of need is becoming clearer," said Manuel Rodriguez Pumarol, UNICEF representative in Venezuela. "Hospitals are operating beyond capacity, thousands of children don't have reliable access to safe water, and many schools have been damaged. UNICEF is working with the Government of Venezuela and partners to scale up support for children and families, and continued funding will be critical to sustaining that response in the weeks ahead," he added.
Hospitals across La Guaira, Caracas, Carabobo, Aragua, and Falc³n states have sustained severe damage, pushing some facilities to critical capacity and disrupting care for children and pregnant women. In the Capital District alone, preliminary information found that 432 schools-more than one-third of all schools in the district-have been damaged, hindering children's education; the toll is expected to be higher in other states once assessments are complete. Authorities are using undamaged schools as temporary shelters for displaced families.
Working alongside the government of Venezuela, the United Nations system, and other humanitarian partners, UNICEF has activated a scaled-up emergency response, deploying additional staff and mobilizing supplies to reach an estimated 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, with assistance across health, nutrition, water and sanitation, child protection, and education.
A first UNICEF air shipment of 20 metric tons of medical supplies, water, and sanitation items arrived in Valencia from UNICEF's regional warehouse in Panama on June 27. A second shipment from UNICEF's global supply hub in Copenhagen is planned in the days ahead. Together, the two shipments are expected to support more than 100,000 people.
UNICEF estimated that USD52 million is required to respond to the earthquake emergency, as part of its wider 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal for Venezuela, which stands at USD137.6 million. The UN body has already mobilized approximately USD3.5 million from its own internal emergency funds to enable rapid initial deployment of supplies and staff, and is calling on donors for additional, flexible funding to sustain and scale up the response.
