Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Climate, Energy, Environment and DRR
Safe water, adequate sanitation, and good hygiene habits are the key to children and adolescents’ survival and development.
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Challenge
Ensuring access to quality water, sanitation and hygiene services remains a challenge. Strengthening services in homes and other infrastructure, such as educational and health centers, constitutes another of the priorities set by UNICEF in the Country Program 2023 - 2026. The lack of access to drinking water or in sufficient quantities favors seasonality. of infectious diseases, especially malaria and dengue, and contributes to the adoption of inadequate hygiene practices, for example, regarding menstrual hygiene.
Likewise, Venezuela is exposed to multiple threats, both biological and human-caused, that represent a considerable risk of disaster. The country is located in a region prone to phenomena such as earthquakes, droughts, heavy rains, floods, landslides and the possibility of soil desertification, all of which are aggravated by climate change.
Solution
The main objective is that all children and adolescents have access to water, sanitation and hygiene services and supplies.
UNICEF, in collaboration with its counterparts, continues to contribute to water, hygiene and sanitation services with emphasis on technical support, promoting public policies and offering training to manage water resources, taking into account not only access to services but also disaster risk reduction.
The participation and protagonism of communities are encouraged. In addition, climate programs adapted to the needs of children are promoted and developed and disaster risk reduction and recovery plans are strengthened.
The country program 2023 – 2026 - through an approach with a gender perspective and focused on equity - aims to guarantee that, by 2026, all children and adolescents in Venezuela, including the most vulnerable, can fully exercise all their rights and develop their full potential in a safe and inclusive society.
UNICEF contributions for access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation services for Venezuelan children in 2022:
- In collaboration with the authorities, UNICEF brings technical capacity and actions to recover the country's water infrastructure, thus allowing access to safe water for thousands of children, adolescents and their families, to ensure healthy environments in schools and medical centers.
- 166,718 boys and girls from 12 states enjoyed a more hygienic and healthier environment, having safe water, hand washing points and hygiene kits in 59 schools and 64 health care centers.
- In schools, UNICEF has made efforts to ensure that the facilities are adapted to children and adolescents with disabilities, which implies, for example, that they have adequate ramps and lighting. For adolescents, work has been done on access to adequate menstrual hygiene, with the provision of sanitary wipes and with training and guidance, among other fundamental aspects.