VENEZUELA

Located on the northern coast of South America, Venezuela shares a border with Colombia to its west, Caribbean countries to the north, Brazil to its south, and Guyana to the east. Its 2022 population (28 million) is a notable decrease from its peak of nearly 31 million in 2016, attributed to the ongoing economic and political crises in the country. 

As of 2024, UNHCR estimated that more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015, with the vast majority ofthose settling in other Latin American countries. 

In Venezuela, RET Germany has provided direct assistance to local communities through programs focused on health and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) and inclusive quality education.  

From 2019–2020, and in partnership with the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations – European Commission (ECHO) in collaboration with Plan International in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador, this project  met the needs of vulnerable populations, focusing on children, adolescent girls, and women affected by the ongoing Venezuela crisis. In Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia, the project also enhanced access to health and education in emergencies (EIE).   

RET Germany facilitated access to primary health care, including establishing a response to COVID-19 impact on sexual and reproductive health and mental health in Colombia and Venezuela. We also provided access to health consultations, medicines, and medical supplies and delivered medical assistance to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), health education activities, and counseling.   

In Venezuela, the EiE intervention focused on four objectives:  

1) To improve education access and the services offered to contribute to the quality education, school permanence, and learning for children and adolescents.   

2) to strengthen institutional capabilities and techniques of education and guarantee quality and integrity of the teaching to create safe spaces that enforce Children’s Rights, which is crucial for both the protection and socio-emotional development of girls and boys affected by crises.   

3) To foster the resilience of the education community by developing sustainable programs adapted to vulnerable groups’ needs and that guarantee the continuous delivery of education services.   

The objectives were accomplished by providing educational materials, incentives for teachers (training sessions and learning material), economic subsidies for families, rehabilitation of school facilities (mainly WASH facilities), direct support to the school feeding program, and awareness-raising activities for parents and caregivers. The project prioritized hygiene supplies and materials and promoted hygiene habits to support COVID-19 prevention.   

4) To build local actors’ capacities in CPIE and EiE to ensure that local actors provide integrated assistance to girls and boys victims of violence, abuse, and exploitation (including gender-based violence).