Highlights
The State of Emergency has been extended to 15 October 2016 in Manabi and Esmeraldas provinces.
3,279 children in 14 schools received essential educational and recreational materials in Pedernales in collaboration with Plan International.
Upwards of 4,000 people (80% of inhabitants) now have access to safe water thanks to the UNICEF donation of a pumping station in Flavio Alfaro.
The revision of the UNICEF response strategy to include early recovery and rural areas with humanitarian needs is being finalized.
Humanitarian strategy
UNICEF is currently focusing on the immediate provision of safe water and sanitation to 170,000 affected people, rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, and sector coordination. UNICEF will reinforce preparedness measures and prevention of ZIKV and other mosquito-spread diseases and continue to provide support to health and nutrition services through the provision of critical health supplies and early identification of children at risk of malnutrition. UNICEF will also provide psychosocial assistance to affected children and continue efforts in family tracing activities, reunification with families and individual care for orphans. Additionally, UNICEF is supporting the national Safe Return to School Plan through the provision of supplies and materials, the establishment of safe temporary schools and the rehabilitation of schools. At this stage of the emergency, UNICEF is revising its initial strategy; while still multisectoral, it has entered a second phase of recovery, rehabilitation and capacity building focused especially on rural communities, which have not yet received humanitarian assistance.