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Highlights

In 2022, an estimated 41.4 million people, including 13.4 million children, were in need of humanitarian support related to ongoing crises including migration flows from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other countries, and needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For 2022, UNICEF appealed for US$185.7 million to address the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable migrants and refugees, including Venezuelan, other nationalities and host communities, the most vulnerable children and families affected by COVID-19, and people affected by violence and displacement.

To date, 242,953 girls and boys have accessed mental health and psychosocial support, around 607,118 have gained access to education, while 1,041,983 children and women have received primary healthcare in UNICEF supported facilities and 1,429,120 people were reached with critical WASH supplies (including 438,477 children).

In 2023, UNICEF requests US$160.5 million to deliver humanitarian assistance to 2.2 million people in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay. This appeal covers those affected by human mobility from Venezuela, as well as vulnerable populations in need of support in Colombia.

Situation in Numbers

13.4 million children in need of assistance (UNICEF HAC 2022, based on RMRP 2022 and country estimates)

41.4 million people in need of assistance (UNICEF HAC 2022, based on RMRP 2022 and country estimates)

6 million Venezuelan migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean (RMRP 2023-2024)

7 million Venezuelan migrants worldwide (RMRP 2023-2024)

[...]

BOLIVIA

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

In 2022, the human mobility situation was very dynamic in Bolivia. In February, there were flows of up to 600 migrants irregularly crossing the border with Chile per day. In the last quarter of 2022, the flows reduced toa third. Socio-political events in the region throughout the year have significantly impacted the migratory flow through Bolivia, Currently the migratory profile is mostly of families in transit through localities with limited access to social services, the majority are young parents with children mostly under 11 years old and led by women.

COVID-19

In 2022, the national government focused on vaccination against COVID-19 and increasing the coverage of the regular immunization schedule for children. UNICEF strongly supported this effort with the campaign Vacunaccin through mass media and alternative media at local level, as well as the improvement of the cold chain at the subnational level. The coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine in Bolivia was around 58 per cent (complete scheme) by the end of 2022.

BRAZIL

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

In 2022, 112,381 Venezuelan migrants entered Brazil via Pacaraima, 33,206 of those (30 per cent) were children and adolescents. At the end of 2022, Venezuelan migrants and refugees account for a total of 389,316 people. Out of the 7,643 migrants living in official shelters, almost half (49 per cent) are children and adolescents. Population in street situations and in spontaneous occupations accounts for 4,062 migrants, 39 per cent of which were children and adolescents (1,409 men; 1,087 women; 1,566 children), but actual numbers, according to the health and social assistance systems are around 25,000 people in Boa Vista only (Roraima capital). An increase on the entrances in the second semester increased demand for services and humanitarian assistance.

COVID-19

The economic impact of the pandemic caused a technical recession in Brazil, impacting around 4.8 million children aged 9-17 who did not have internet access at home. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a significant impact on adolescents' mental health and there have been indications of increasing rates of child labour, often due to the prolonged school closures and rising poverty levels. Brazil had more than 22 million cases and around 620,000 deaths. A total of 12,492 COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths have been registered for indigenous populations.

CHILE

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

The foreign population in Chile has had a considerable increase in recent times. By 2022, the Instituto Nacional de Estadsticas (INE) estimated that 1,482,390 would reside in the country, representing 7.5 per cent of the population, increasing the total number of foreign residents to more than 14 per cent compared to 2018. The northern macrozone is the prelude to entry through unauthorized routs, with an increase of 80 per cent since 2010 with 35,400 admissions until 2021, where 37.2 per cent are children and adolescents and according to IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) in Colchane, 50 per cent of them feel unsafe on the way. Lack of opportunities, protection and health continue to be crucial issues in addressing the response to migration and contemplating the well-being of children and adolescents. Along with this, gender gaps are key points to intervene, by the year 2020, 42.3 per cent of migrant women in Chile indicated that they had been victims of genderbased violence and 11.6 per cent of femicides in Chile correspond to migrant women, without detracting from the fact that there is a growing number of disabled children and adolescents with multiple needs in Chile.

COLOMBIA

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

To date Colombia is the largest recipient of migrants and refugees in the region with 2.4 million Venezuelans migrants and refugees in the country. By December 2022, humanitarian child protection actors identified approximately 3,600 cases of unaccompanied migrant children. GBV continues to have a differential effect on the migration process, affecting mostly girls, adolescents girls and migrant women. According to the National Institute of Health (INS; SIVIGILA), between January 2022 and the second week of September 2022, 92,668 cases of gender-based violence were registered.

Every year, thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from different countries use the Darien Gap, located on Panama's border with Colombia, to enter Central America and advance on their way to North America. Between January and November 2022, approximately 155,000 migrants have transited, 15 per cent of them are children and adolescents and 72 per cent of the total number of people are of Venezuelan nationality (showing an increase of more than 3000 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year).

Other situations

The armed conflict is one of the main axes of the response, mainly in territories with multiple affectations, limited institutional response and presence of indigenous and Afro communities, vulnerable to the impacts of confinements and displacements. Climate change crises have required the implementation of response actions in Nario, Choco, La Guajira, Vichada, Norte de Santander and Arauca, and droughts in the Caribbean Coast, La Guajira and the Eastern Plains. In Colombia, between January and November 2022, more than 550,000 people were affected during 287 humanitarian emergencies due to confinement, forced displacement and disasters caused by climate variability.xvi According to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD in Spanish), 466,500 people were affected in 3,300 events, which is why the Government declared a National Disaster situation on 1 November. The humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict and violence continue to intensify, highlighting the figures of victims of explosive devices amounting to the sum of 366 being Nario, Choco, Norte de Santander and Cauca, the areas of greatest impact, increasing by 43 per cent compared to the same period of 2021.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

As of December 2022, there were approximately 115,300 Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the Dominican Republic. The regularization plan for Venezuelans that began in 2021 has not reopened its registration phase. Many families have not been able to cover the costs of the regularization plan or obtain identity documents, such as birth certificates for children born in the Dominican Republic or passports. A restrictive interpretation of the Normalization Plan for Venezuelans has impeded the normalization of the migratory status of Venezuelan children born in the Dominican Republic since 2014, making it difficult for them to leave the country or return in a regular manner. Access to legal identity or documentation needed to enrol in the education system is a major obstacle to completing formal education. The assessment of psychosocial needs of the Venezuelan population in the Dominican Republic, carried out by UNICEF and the Institute of Mental Health and Telepsychology (ISAMT) in 2022, confirms the issue as a priority alongside bullying suffered by Venezuelan children.

COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country registered an economic contraction of 7 per cent and an inflation rate of 5 per cent. According to the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPYD), general poverty increased from 21 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2020 and extreme poverty from 2.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent, reversing the progress previously made in the country. In 2022, the economy recovered, and official estimates of the MEPYD indicate that the country will have maintained a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent in 2022. Despite this favourable economic situation, social, gender and territorial inequalities persist. The most vulnerable children are those with disabilities, those without access to legal identity and migrants. At the end of 2022, the total number of cases reported was 659,211 with a positive rate of 10 per cent. The country has reached high vaccination rates with 6,078,255 people fully vaccinated, and 16,211,082 doses issued.

Other situations

Migratory policy changes continue to negatively impact the protection of children, adolescents, pregnant women, and families on the move between Haiti and Dominican Republic. In 2022, 154,333 undocumented foreigners were deported, mostly of Haitian nationality. Press reports from the end of the year report cases of Venezuelans waiting for deportation in detention facilities.

GUYANA

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

An estimated 29,000 Venezuelan migrants including 9,000 children and adolescents have settled in several communities but mostly along the border side of Guyana. Existing systems to provide support are constrained due to limited human resources, and other capacity challenges (infrastructure, mobility of migrants from one location to other locations, etc.). To support longer term planning, development and response, UNICEF is supporting the strengthening of the coordination and collaboration that is needed to ensure state and non-state support and joint delivery of programmes. UNICEF is working with partners to identify and prioritize communities where the need for WASH interventions is classified as urgent and is also working with MoE to strengthen WASH infrastructure in key schools attended by migrant children. All sectors (health, education, social protection, child protection, justice, finance) need support to cater for the increase of migrants (including from Venezuela) to meet basic needs, especially in interior and rural communities where services have been traditionally limited or non-existent.

COVID-19

The relaxation of the significant restrictive measures by the Government of Guyana in the first quarter of 2022 has negatively impacted the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine, but uptake has been affected majorly by vaccine hesitancy due to complacency, lack of confidence as well as lack of convenience. Nevertheless, vaccination continues in all regions with more focus on lowerperforming regions. There is a need for more communication and SBC activities.

PERU

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

The flow of migrants and refugees continues to be constant through the northern border, mostly through irregular crossings, which heightens their vulnerability to GBV, trafficking, and others. In November 2022, IOM counted an average of 805 entries and 368 departures per day in Tumbes. According to UNHCR, the main needs were access to food, shelter, transport, and hygiene items (including menstrual hygiene items). UNICEF intervention escalated in the second semester, offering direct humanitarian and technical assistance in health and nutrition, WASH, child protection, and education. Special attention was given to inclusive and gender-sensitive services. Migratory status regularization and integration has continued to be apriority as it facilitates access to basic services and formal work opportunities.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic times continue to negatively affect the country, including the migrant and refugee population; of those entering the country, 35 per cent have not been vaccinated (UNHCR Protection Monitoring, November 2022). With almost 220,000 COVID-19 confirmed deaths (1,389 of them children and adolescents), highest case fatality rate in the region (4.89 per cent, OurWorldInData), many people have lost their livelihoods, health care centres limited their capacity and are just now partially reactivating, children suffered great setbacks in their learning processes, mental health has deteriorated, and vulnerabilities have increased.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

Migrant and refugee families with children faced very challenging circumstances in 2022. According to the Food Security and Livelihood Survey (August 2022) there was a 10.2 per cent food inflation compounded with high energy prices, and the deterioration of the national socioeconomic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey recognizes that migrants and refugees in Trinidad and Tobago are the most severely impacted considering the protracted nature of the migration crisis, and their fragile migratory status. The current context has also brought heightened crime, violence, and other safety issues particularly impacting women in the form of sexual harassment and abuse.

URUGUAY

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Children on the move, including Venezuelans

The vulnerability of migrants arriving in Uruguay continued to worsen throughout the year. At both the Chuy and Rivera borders, the entry of children and adolescents in situations of extreme vulnerability has been observed. Migrant families do not remain on the border, however, as the vast majority move to Montevideo. One of the lessons learned in recent years is that, in Uruguay, the impact of migration on children and adolescents is often an invisible reality. The rush of migrating families to meet their urgent needs, resolving food, housing, work and documentation issues, often leads to children's problems getting placed on the back burner; children's or adolescent concerns become neglected and invisible among the humanitarian assistance the families receive.

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UNICEF LACRO Humanitarian Situation report - Children on the ... - ReliefWeb