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UNFPA: Quake in northern Venezuela killed more than 5,000, displaced 23,000, agency says
Summary
A UNFPA representative said the Northern Venezuela earthquakes killed 5,000-plus people and displaced over 23,000. The agency said it has provided reproductive-health services and gender-based-violence prevention since day one and urged increased funding for these often-overlooked needs.
A UNFPA representative said today that the earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela one month ago have killed more than 5,000 people and displaced over 23,000, and that the agency has been responding "since day 1" to provide life-saving reproductive-health services.
"Today marks 1 month since the devastating earthquakes struck Northern Venezuela, which claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people and have displaced over 23,000," the representative said. The official linked the casualty and displacement figures to urgent needs for health services that are sometimes sidelined in emergency responses.
The representative said UNFPA has focused on scaling up reproductive-health services and strengthening prevention and response to gender-based violence. "UNFPA has been responding to this crisis since day 1 to scale up life saving reproductive health services and strengthen gender based violence prevention and response," the statement said.
The statement warned that reproductive-health care and gender-based-violence programming are frequently overlooked and underfunded in humanitarian appeals. "These are sectors that are often overlooked in emergency response and chronically underfunded. This has to change," the representative said, calling for more attention and resources to close gaps in care.
The UNFPA representative added that the agency will remain on the ground to support affected families and coordinate with authorities and partners. "We were here before the earthquakes, and we are staying with Venezuelans and alongside the authorities and partners for as long as it takes for families to get back on their feet," the official said.
There were no figures provided in the statement on funding requests or donor pledges, and the representative did not specify timelines for scaling services beyond the agency's ongoing presence.
