September 2020
Oct 2020 >
UNHCR, 2020
Highlights
- The Government of Venezuela (GoV) extended the State of Alarm through 13 October 2020, which also included nationwide quarantine measures and limited mobility among states and municipalities, with over 75,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Venezuela as of 30 September 2020.
- With the Venezuelan borders with Colombia and Brazil still close, but allowing the entry of Venezuelan returnees, supporting the Puntos de Atención Social Integral (PASI) throughout the country has remained a priority for the Shelter Cluster partners, including small repairs, expanding its capacity with Refugee Housing Units (RHUs), Rubb-halls, and NFI distributions, including basic equipment (e.g. sleeping mats, kitchen kits and hygiene items).
- Through September 2020 there was a noticeable decrease in the number of spontaneous returns and the trends are being observed in collaboration with other Clusters.
NFI
Shelter
Need analysis
- In order to support local and national authorities in country, the network of PASI and other temporary shelter arrangements in country is still a priority.
- The distribution of NFI kits, including Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) items due to the increase of COVID-19 cases in prioritised communities and individuals returning to Venezuela is still a priority.
- The heavy rains registered during the third quarter throughout the country have caused significant flooding in Apure, Bolívar and Aragua states leading to the affectation of many households. In Apure and Aragua states, the affectation caused severe damage to shelters and basic NFIs (including mattresses, sheets, beds, clothes, among others). The risk of floods remains high and their potential impacts are growing during the rainy season.
Response
- Through 2020, a total of 272,816 individuals (56% female and 44% male) benefited from a better access to safe shelter, energy or basic NFIs in ten states, including Táchira (169,598), Zulia (50,969), Apure (21,339) and Bolívar (12,033). One partner organisation started implementing activities in Barinas state, reaching 538 individuals, with no coverage during the previous months.
- Activities targeting temporary shelter arrangements have reached over 46 PASI throughout the country (with most of them in border states), and 11 other forms of temporary shelters, including churches, and have reached 80,745 individuals who were supported with temporary shelter and NFI distributions. Some Shelter Cluster partners have also worked with the Venezuelan churches to distribute emergency items and provide temporary shelter. Also, capacity building activities to strengthen capacity in both coordination and management were organised jointly and reached over 586 staff members working at the PASIs.
- Activities targeting health facilities, state-led institutions and community centres have reached 152,833 individuals, including 12 health facilities supported with RHUs and Rubb-halls for isolation and triage.
- Other activities targeted prioritised communities, reaching 39,238 vulnerable individuals in Amazonas, Apure, Barinas, Bolívar, Distrito Capital, Miranda, Táchira and Zulia states. The activities included the delivery of a total of 4,347 solar lamps, benefiting 15,762 individuals, NFI distributions and habitat kits.
Gaps / challenges
- Together with the countrywide movement restrictions established by the national authorities to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the limited access to fuel has also significantly affected partners' field operations during the third quarter of 2020, in the same line of previous months.
- Most of the activities implemented by partner organisations have been focused on supporting temporary shelter arrangements and health centres as part of the COVID-19 response. However, other needs in terms of shelter, energy and NFI not related to COVID-19 remained unattended.
- Partner organisations have, overall, not received funding through the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) 2020, and have limited access to other funding mechanisms. The limited funding has had a negative impact on the response capacity by partners organisations.
- In line with the limited response capacity, the increase of COVID-19 cases countrywide through September 2020, representing more than a 50 per cent increase compared to August 2020, has also impacted the access to affected populations in key prioritised locations, jeopardising the timeliness and effectiveness of the response.
