Venezuela
Economic Disruption, 08 Feb 2025
| Allocation | $9,099,187 |
|---|---|
| Emergency type | Economic Disruption |
| Window | Underfunded Emergencies |
| Recipient UN Agencies | FAO, IOM, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO |
| Group(s) of people targeted | Host communities, Refugees, Returnees, Internally displaced persons, Other affected persons |
| Number of people targeted | 173,818 |
| Status | Under Implementation |
| Allocation code | CERF-VEN-25-UF-1452 |
| Title | CERF Underfunded Emergencies: Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 2025 (Socio-economic disruption) |
Overview of the humanitarian situation
Venezuela continues to face significant humanitarian challenges driven by structural economic bottlenecks, political and social instability, and recurrent climate-related events. An estimated 7.6 million people require humanitarian assistance, with critical needs for health, food security, education, water and sanitation, nutrition, and protection assistance. The healthcare system is severely strained, disproportionately impacting women, children, indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities. The abrupt withdrawal of US support, which funded 56% of Venezuela’s HNRP in 2024, has deepened these challenges, particularly for women and girls. The overall funding shortages have resulted in a drastic reduction in essential services, leaving 1.2 million people without healthcare access, cutting GBV response programs by 50%, and reducing child protection services by 60%, exposing thousands to heightened risks of violence and exploitation.
CERF-funded assistance
The RC/HC will use this allocation to help the rigorous reprioritization of humanitarian response, directing limited resources towards safeguarding the survival and dignity of vulnerable women and children, who have been disproportionately impacted by the sudden funding withdrawal and shortages. The allocation adopts a strategic emphasis on localization to facilitate a structured and responsible transition as the country operation scales down. At least 40% of funding will be allocated to national and local partners, particularly women-led and community-based organizations, which play an essential role in the response, possessing both the proximity and capacity to rapidly resume/expand suspended life-saving services. This will facilitate a shift toward a more sustainable, locally led response model that ensures the continuity of critical services beyond this CERF allocation. A complementary $3 million allocation from the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund will further support localization efforts. The UFE allocation targets approximately 174,000 people. FAO, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, UNHCR, and IOM are providing life-saving assistance in the Food Security (Agriculture), WASH, Health (including SRH), Nutrition and Protection (including Child Protection and GBV) sectors. In addition to the regular UFE funding envelope of $8 million, FAO and UNICEF, with $1.1 million from a dedicated thematic funding envelope, are implementing projects promoting climate-smart humanitarian action to enhance crisis-affected communities' adaptive capacity and resilience to future climate shocks and stresses.