ReliefWeb

Highlights

• In 2022, an estimated 41.4 million people, of which 13.4 million children in the region, will need humanitarian support related to ongoing crises including migration flows from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other countries, and needs generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In response, UNICEF is supporting affected children and families’ safe access to quality education, child protection, WASH, health and nutrition services, as well as gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and social protection services, including life-saving cash transfers.

• With UNICEF support, 300,000 children have accessed formal and informal education opportunities, 800,000 children and women have received primary health care, 17,000 parents and caregivers received child feeding counselling, 64,000 people were reached with critical WASH supplies and services, 150,000 children and caregivers received psychosocial support, and 730,000 people were reached with key information on access to services.

• By June, UNICEF’s Appeal 2022 was 77 per cent underfunded. Urgent support is needed to maintain and further scale-up humanitarian response actions on the ground. Without adequate funding, UNICEF will not be able to reach the most vulnerable migrants and refugee families, and other extremely vulnerable children and families facing the reduced opportunities of livelihoods and limited access to services due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Situation in numbers

13.4 million children in need of assistance (UNICEF HAC 2022, based on RMRP 2022 and country estimates)

41.4 million people in need of assistance (UNICEF HAC 2022, based on RMRP 2022 and country estimates)

5.06 million Venezuelan migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean (RMRP 2022)

6.1 million Venezuelan migrants worldwide (RMRP 2022)

Regional funding overview and partnerships

As of June 2022, UNICEF has funds available of USD 43.4 million: USD 10.6 million carried over from 2021 and USD 32.8 million received in 2022. Critical funding received to kick-start the humanitarian response in 2022 includes a flexible contribution from the Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration – USA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Norway, and the European Commission to address the needs of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, and host communities across all countries as a part of the appeal. Allocations from UNICEF Global Humanitarian Thematic Funds were also made to support migration-related response and COVID-19 support including GBV prevention. Private funds were received in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru for the migration and COVID-19 responses. The results achieved so far would not have been possible without the continued support from key partners, nevertheless with a funding gap of 77 per cent,i additional flexible funds are urgently needed to: ensure capacity to adapt programming to the different countries’ priorities; establish adapted mechanisms to identify and assess the situation of children in need; and further expand UNICEF’s presence and integration efforts. A prolonged gap in funding hinders UNICEF’s capacity to respond to existing and emerging needs in a timely manner.

Regional situation overview and humanitarian needs

In 2022, an estimated 41.4 million people, of which 13.4 million children,ii are in need of humanitarian support related to ongoing crises including migration flows from Venezuela,iii Brazil, Chile, Cuba and Haiti,iv among others, as well as internal displacement in Colombia. There are 6.1 million Venezuelans displaced worldwide, with 86 per cent (5.06 million) moving within the region.v Approximately 4.6 million Venezuelans, including indigenous populations, are settled in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.vi These countries host the most vulnerable migrants and refugees with limited livelihood opportunities and poor access to health, nutrition, education, WASH, child protection and GBV services. Women and girls, including GBV survivors, are less likely to obtain free medical care (including reproductive health), psychosocial support and access to justice and protection.

The socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region harder than any other region in the world, pushing half of the region’s children below the poverty line. Venezuelan migrants and refugees, in particular families with children, pregnant women and single mothers, have been extremely vulnerable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on income and livelihoods due to their over-representation in the informal sector and their low inclusion in social protection mechanisms. Venezuelan children and their families are in urgent need of integration into national social protection systems to access basic income support and essential social services.

Colombia continues to experience multiple emergency compounded by internal displacements and violence, the Venezuelan migration crisis, migration influx from other countries, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic which has aggravated the humanitarian situation in the country. In Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay 32.5 million people continue to need assistance due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, violence and internal displacement. They have limited access to health care including maternal health and vaccinations, nutrition, child protection, education, early childhood development, WASH and social protection services.