UNICEF aid shipment lands in Venezuela following devastating earthquakes

CARACAS/COPENHAGEN/NEW YORK, 30 June 2026 – In response to the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June, a 47-metric-ton shipment of UNICEF humanitarian supplies has arrived in the country today to support children and families affected. 

The shipment - mobilized from the European Union stockpile hosted at the UNICEF global supply and logistics hub in Copenhagen - includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care and disease prevention and treatment; water purification and storage supplies to help provide safe drinking water; tents for setting up child-friendly spaces and service points; mobility aids including wheelchairs ; and recreational and early childhood development supplies to help children regain a sense of normalcy and continue learning.

"This shipment could not come at a more critical time for children here in Venezuela,’ said UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and that Caribbean, Roberto Benes. "Families across the affected states are in urgent need of safe water, as well as  access to health care. Many are sleeping outside, afraid of more aftershocks. These supplies will help us reach children and families with what they need most right now - medical care, clean water, safe spaces. But the needs on the ground are far greater than what's arrived today, and we need sustained support to keep scaling up our response."

Approximately 680,000 children are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance across the six states affected by the earthquakes – which were the most significant seismic event to strike Venezuela in over a century. Communities remain at risk from continuing aftershocks, which have numbered more than 600since the initial quakes.

This shipment, along with a regional one that arrived from Panama on 28 June, will support an estimated number of more than 100,000 children and families over a period of three months.

UNICEF continues to coordinate with national authorities, the UN Country Team and humanitarian partners to assess needs and scale up the response across child protection, health, nutrition and WASH. 

UNICEF estimates that US$52 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 US$137.6 million and was, prior to the earthquakes, only 35 per cent funded. UNICEF has mobilized approximately US$3.5 million from its own internal emergency funds to enable rapid initial deployment of supplies and staff.   

#####