Location
Venezuela
Beneficiaries
local population
Period
2026
Context:
CARE has been working in Venezuela since 2018 entirely through local partners, seeking to provide life-saving services, including health services, food security, clean water and hygiene/sanitation services to the most at-risk communities affected by the country’s crisis.
On 24 June 2026, the strongest earthquake to hit Venezuela in more than 125 years struck a country where millions of people were already amid a prolonged economic crisis that has forced millions to flee over the last decade. Two back-to-back powerful earthquakes (magnitude 7.2 and 7.5) hit the coastal city of La Guaira, on the outskirts of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
The scale of destruction caused by the Venezuela earthquakes is huge:
- Thousands of people have been killed, and thousands more injured. The death toll continues to rise, and the country’s hospitals are under extreme pressure.
- The UN estimates that millions of people have been affected, with more than two million in the worst impacted areas.
- Women and their families are sleeping in makeshift tents on the street, with little protection from the heat and rain. Power lines and roads have been destroyed, and people are cut off from essential supplies.
- Women and girls face increasing risks. They urgently need safe shelter, menstrual and hygiene supplies, reproductive healthcare, and protection from the heightened threat of gender-based violence and exploitation that often follows disasters like this.
Venezuela was already facing a severe economic crisis before the earthquakes. The needs are now overwhelming.
Project description:
CARE partners are seeking funding to provide safe spaces for women and girls at displacement sites; distribute hygiene and dignity kits, emergency CARE PACKAGE kits; provide clean water and psychosocial support; source and distribute tents, tarpaulins, and blankets; provide hot food and emergency food packages; and offer health services with a focus on women and girls.
Women and girls often face disproportionate challenges during disasters and need targeted support, including protection services and safe shelters; dignity and hygiene kits, specialized health services, and psychosocial interventions. Tinta Violeta, a women-led organization and CARE partner, identified 15 sexual violence cases within the first 72 hours of shelter operations, which indicates the increased risks women and girls face after being forced to flee their homes.
Specific objectives:
CARE is coordinating directly with local partners including Tinta Violeta and Huamnitary and Inclusion (HI), Uniandes and CESAP/CAFI Network in Venezuela to provide life-saving support to women and their communities. They are best-placed to respond to this tragedy and tell us what is needed right now.
Priorities include:
- Emergency supplies
- Psychosocial support
- Gender-based violence case management
- Dignity and hygiene kit distribution
- Community kitchens, support hotlines and referral systems
Our response is prioritising those most at risk in the aftermath of the earthquakes, especially women and girls.
Key Themes:
Emergency Response
Protecting women
Basic needs