Aid agencies are racing to deliver hygiene kits and other essential supplies to Caracas and La Guaira, as families sheltering outside face high temperatures in the day and heavy downpours at night, putting them at risk of dehydration, diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses.
CARACAS, 2 July 2026 — Children affected by last week’s earthquakes in Venezuela are facing increasing health risks as many families in shelters and temporary settlements lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services, Save the Children said.
Aid agencies are racing to deliver hygiene kits and other essential supplies to Caracas and La Guaira – two areas hardest hit by the earthquakes – as families sheltering outside face high temperatures in the day and heavy downpours at night, putting them at risk of dehydration, diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses. The disaster comes at a time when Venezuela’s healthcare system is already under pressure to meet urgent medical needs.
Powerful storms, rain and thunder – which frequently occur during the peak months of the rainy season - are also adding to the anxiety children are facing. Parents of children sheltering outside in tents have told our teams on the ground how powerful storms, rain and thunder, have left children already distressed from the devastating earthquakes terrified.
More than 2,300 people have been confirmed dead following the back-to-back 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck on 24 June, and affected over 850 buildings, with almost 200 flattened.
Paolina*, a Save the Children staff member in Venezuela, said:
“Many people have lost their homes. Many have lost family members. This is undoubtedly overwhelming... facing this situation and seeing all these children affected.
"The experience has been traumatic for many adults and especially for children, many of whom still do not understand what happened in Venezuela.”
More than 600 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial earthquakes, according to the UN, with many children too scared to sleep indoors one week on.
About 680,000 children have been impacted by the earthquakes, according to the UN.
Save the Children has launched a humanitarian response to help people in the affected regions, as survivors desperately need assistance such as health and psychosocial support and mobile safe spaces where children are protected and can get emergency items, such as shelter kits, tents and hygiene kits, and learning activities while schools remain closed.
Fatima Andraca, Save the Children’s Country Director in Venezuela, said:
“The earthquakes have already taken a devastating toll on children. Now a lack of adequate shelter, clean water and exposure to the elements including heavy downpours are creating a second emergency, exposing families sleeping outdoors or in informal settlements to new health risks. Hospitals have been damaged and are strained with the thousands of injuries they are trying to treat. If illnesses or other health risks intensify, the pressure on the health system will only worsen. Families urgently need access to clean and safe drinking water, adequate shelter, and mobile health care if they do get sick.”
Save the Children is on the ground in Venezuela, working with authorities and local partners and will be providing primary healthcare through mobile clinics, distributing hygiene kits, clean water and essential supplies, and setting up safe spaces where children can access mental health support and continue learning while schools remain closed. The organisation will also be providing coordinated child protection services with key stakeholders.
Save the Children is an independent, impartial child rights organisation with our focus on the urgent humanitarian needs of children and families in Venezuela.
Save the Children has been working in Venezuela since 2019. Since the humanitarian crisis started to rapidly deteriorate a few years ago, Save the Children has been scaling its response through local partners to support the increasing number of children in need. Save the Children is delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene and food security and livelihoods support.
ENDS
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