Venezuela earthquakes: IFRC dispatches emergency field hospital; supports Venezuelan Red Cross distribution of humanitarian relief kits

Country: Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Sources: Cruz Roja Venezolana, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Caracas / Panama City / Geneva 06 July 2026 – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is continuing to scale up its response to the recent earthquakes in Venezuela and its support to the Venezuelan Red Cross in delivering humanitarian assistance to people affected by the unprecedented disaster. The IFRC dispatched an emergency field hospital to La Guaira over the weekend (July 5), in partnership with the Spanish Red Cross, which also provided doctors and other health professionals. The emergency field hospital can provide primary health care to 30, 000 people and will be fully operational in the coming days. It can also support maternal and infant care, vaccinations, epidemiological and nutritional surveillance, and mental and psychosocial support, and can accommodate up to 20 patients for overnight observation. Mobile health clinics will also begin operating to reach affected people and help ensure healthcare access for the communities we serve. This emergency field hospital will support the Venezuelan Red Cross’s existing field hospital, which has been operating since the crisis began. This field hospital has already treated hundreds of trauma cases in the days following the twin earthquakes and is now increasingly providing primary care and psychosocial support to affected people. In addition to these health services, the Venezuelan Red Cross, supported by the IFRC, is distributing relief items in affected areas, such as the San Martín Parish in Caracas in a school where families are sheltered after their homes were damaged by the earthquakes. Relief items included hygiene kits, cleaning kits, sleeping kits, water filters and jerrycans. This is part of the 36 tons of humanitarian aid dispatched to Venezuela from IFRC humanitarian hubs in Panama and Argentina. The scaling up of health services and aid distribution comes as search-and-rescue activities slow down. As the crisis evolves, so do the health needs of affected communities. In the first days after the earthquakes, the focus was on emergency care. Current assessment identifies mental and psychosocial support, primary and maternal health, prevention, and safe water and sanitation as key to this transition phase of the humanitarian response. The IFRC calls on the international community, donors and partners to support the emergency appeal so affected communities in Venezuela can receive the full scope of life-saving assistance they urgently need. IFRC spokespeople are available for interviews from Caracas and can facilitate media reporting on the response in Caracas and La Guaira, including the humanitarian situation, relief efforts, humanitarian needs and the need for continued international support in the weeks ahead. For more information or to set up an interview contact: [email protected] In Venezuela: Paolo Cravero, +41 79 894 8396 In Panama: Susana Arroyo Barrantes, +507 6999-3199 In Geneva: Scott Craig, +41 76 370 3575

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