UNICEF: 680,000 children estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance after Venezuela earthquakes

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 of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, struck within a minute of each other on 24 June, in the most significant seismic event to affect Venezuela in over a century.  Preliminary satellite analysis found that nearly a 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.”

Hospitals across La Guaira, Caracas, Carabobo, Aragua and Falcón 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 indicates found that  432 schools -  more than a third of all schools in the district - have been damaged, hindering children’s education; the toll is expected to be higher still 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 27 June. 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 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. UNICEF has already mobilized approximately US$3.5 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.