An estimated 680,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance following earthquakes in Venezuela
UNICEF’s first aid flight arrived in Venezuela with medical supplies, water and sanitation items
CARACAS, NEW YORK, 27 June 2026 – UNICEF estimates that 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children, are in need of humanitarian assistance following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June.
Two earthquakes, magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, were recorded just one minute apart on June 24, in the most significant seismic event to hit Venezuela in more than a century. A preliminary satellite analysis determined that almost a third of the buildings in one of the most affected areas evaluated so far, Catia La Mar, in the state of La Guaira, have damage.
“After three days of response, the magnitude of the needs is beginning to become clearer,” said Manuel Rodríguez Pumarol, UNICEF Representative in Venezuela. “Hospitals are operating beyond capacity, thousands of children do not have reliable access to clean water, and many schools have been damaged. UNICEF is working with the Government of Venezuela and its partners to scale up support for children and their families, and continued funding will be critical to sustain this response in the coming weeks.”
Hospitals in Caracas and the states of La Guaira, Carabobo, Aragua and Falcón have suffered serious damage, leading some establishments to a critical situation and affecting the care of children and pregnant women. In the Capital District alone, preliminary information indicates that 432 schools – more than a third of the district’s total schools – have been damaged, making it difficult for children to continue their education. The number is expected to increase once assessments in other states are concluded. Authorities are setting up schools that were not damaged as temporary shelters for displaced families.
Working with the Government of Venezuela, the UN system and other humanitarian partners, UNICEF has activated an expanded emergency response, deploying additional staff and mobilizing supplies to reach some 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, with assistance in health, nutrition, water and sanitation, child protection and education.
UNICEF’s first airlift, carrying 20 metric tons of medical supplies, water and sanitation items, arrived in Valencia on 27 June from UNICEF’s regional warehouse in Panama. A second shipment from UNICEF’s global supply centre in Copenhagen is planned for the coming days. Together, both shipments will serve more than 100,000 people.
UNICEF estimates that US$52 million is required to respond to the earthquake emergency, as part of its broader Humanitarian Action for Children 2026 appeal for Venezuela, totalling US$137.6 million. UNICEF has already mobilized approximately US$3.5 million from its own emergency domestic funds to facilitate the initial deployment of staff and supplies, and is appealing to donors to provide additional and flexible funding to sustain and scale up the response.
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