Venezuela
2023-09 Factsheet - Venezuela
September 2023
Oct 2023 > Cluster Alojamiento, Energía y Enseres, 2023
Highlights
- By the end of September, the Shelter, Energy and NFI Cluster reached 22,119 direct beneficiaries and 372,582 indirect beneficiaries through partners interventions in institutions and community spaces providing essential services to population: temporary shelters, education, health, and community centers, among others.
- Given the presence of humanitarian actors on the field with expertise in shelter, and the need of greater coordination at the local level, subnational clusters were officially activated in Amazonas, Apure and Barinas states, covering part of Venezuelan llanos and the south of the country. First meetings with various partner organizations (including UN Agencies, local and international NGOs) were held in each entity to present the cluster strategy, main activities and promote alliances and complementarity. The cluster is now officially made up of five sub-national coordination structures.
- A new Strategic Advisory Group was established for the 2023-2024 through a participatory process involving the entire coordination forum. For this new period, the structure of the group has been unanimously expanded to include an additional international NGO.
- With the support of the global cluster's Environment Community of Practice, a pilot scorecard was applied to more than 20 items to estimate the environmental impact of the distribution of basic NFIs in Venezuela. The expected outcome is to be able to generate recommendations to reduce the environmental impact of NFIs distribution and include them in the catalog of kits currently under development.
- The project selection process for the first 2023 allocation of the CBPF (Venezuela Humanitarian Fund) was completed in July. Three projects (two implemented by local NGOs) with shelter, energy and NFIs interventions will be funded to assist indigenous communities in Delta Amacuro state and returnees in Miranda state.
- During August, the Guide on Temporary Shelters for Victims of Human Trafficking in Venezuela was published as part of a collaborative effort between the Shelter Cluster and the Working Group on the Prevention and Response to Trafficking in Persons established under the Protection Cluster. The guidelines are intended to facilitate the establishment of shelters for victims of human trafficking by humanitarian actors. Specifically, the document is designed to provide guidance, showcase best practices, and recommend resources in the thematic areas covered in its chapters.
NFI
Shelter
Need analysis
- During September, the data collection process led by OCHA began with the application of a multisectoral survey that will provide data at the municipality level (admin 2). Within the survey, a specific module was established to collect information on shelter damage, access to electricity and domestic gas, and priority NFIs for the most vulnerable people. In addition, questions were included to learn about the impact of these situations on people's living conditions. The data will be available as of October to subsequently calculate the number of People in Need and estimate the severity for more than 335 municipalities.
- With the support of the Ministry of Energy, the need to reestablish the operation of more than 50 photovoltaic systems was identified. The reactivation of these systems, located in Merida state, would allow access to energy in remote and isolated communities in the Venezuelan Andes. In coordination with the national authorities and cluster partners, it is expected to establish a joint work plan to address these needs.
Response
- By the end of September, 22,119 direct beneficiaries were reached by Shelter, Energy and NFI activities (50% female, 50% male, 25% indigenous). Interventions in institutions and other spaces providing essential services to population reached indirectly 372,582 people of concern. The response covered 14 states and the Capital District. States with the highest number of total beneficiaries were Apure and Tachira (transit and border states), Miranda, Zulia, Bolívar, Sucre and Amazonas (prioritized for the HRP 2022-2023), Carabobo and Barinas with communities of interest for organizations.
- Regarding Shelter Response, 64 constructions and rehabilitations of spaces providing essential services to population were completed in health spaces, schools, community spaces and WGSS and authority spaces, to allow access to essential services for the most vulnerable. Also 41 shelter emergency units were installed in coordination with authorities for disaster response and prevention in Miranda, Falcón, Aragua, Mérida, Apure and Capital District. 9,978 people on the move occupied temporary collective shelters managed by partner organizations in Táchira, Apure, Zulia, Sucre, Falcón and Miranda states.
- As for interventions to improve access to Energy, 156 street solar lamps were installed to prevent protection risks in Zulia, Táchira, Miranda and Carabobo states. 99 systems to generate electricity were installed in education centers, coordination authorities for the disaster response and community spaces, and 1846 portable solar lamps were installed and delivered to beneficiaries in communities, community centers, schools, and coordination authority spaces to strengthen response for disaster management.
- Regarding access to basic NFIs, more than 11,000 people were reached. 1319 habitat and 30 kits for people in mobility were delivered, and 204 provisions of non-food items were made to equip spaces for the provision of essential services including health centers, coordination authorities, education centers, community spaces, health centers and temporary shelters.
Gaps / challenges
- Reportedly, technical guidelines and international standards to establish temporary shelters for people affected by disasters associated with natural events, are not uniformly applied at the field level. It is a priority to define a joint strategy together with governmental institutions that integrates the different types of temporary shelters that exist in Venezuela and promotes knowledge of the basic technical standards for relevant actors who administrate and manage these spaces.
- Individual assistance through NFIs distribution to people affected by adverse socio-natural events is not possible to be carried out timely, due to operational issues and humanitarian access limitations, in some areas access is only possible for UN Agencies, closing opportunities for other national and international actors to effectively response.
