Constant Power Outages in Venezuela Affect Children's Mental Health, Warns NGO

Constant power outages across Venezuela are significantly harming the educational, developmental, and mental well-being of children and adolescents, according to the NGO Cecodap. The crisis disproportionately affects regions outside the capital, Caracas, infringing upon fundamental rights.

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The electricity crisis not only affects the functioning of public services. It also alters essential conditions for the exercise of rights and the well-being of children, girls, and adolescents.

Cecodap highlights that the electricity crisis extends beyond disrupting public services; it creates conditions that hinder the exercise of essential rights and compromise the welfare of young people. Schools are struggling with insufficient ventilation, limited access to potable water, and non-functional bathrooms, making it difficult for students to endure the school day. Some children reportedly reduce their water intake to avoid using inadequate restroom facilities.

Students face challenging learning environments due to extreme heat, which impacts concentration and academic performance. Adolescents struggle to complete assignments amidst frequent service interruptions at home and a pervasive lack of connectivity. The constant uncertainty, shifting schedules, disrupted sleep patterns, and increased family stress contribute to emotional fatigue, anxiety, irritability, and a general sense of exhaustion.

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There are children and girls who reduce their consumption of drinking water to avoid using bathrooms that do not work. There are students who face days in conditions of heat that affect concentration and learning. There are adolescents who try to do their academic assignments while also experiencing constant service interruptions in their homes.

Cecodap stresses that these effects should not be underestimated, as children require stability for healthy development. The organization recommends that families strive to maintain routines, explain the situation in age-appropriate terms, create emotional outlets, safeguard rest and hydration, and observe signs of emotional distress. They also advise listening to adolescents and seeking community support.

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These effects should not be minimized, children need stability to develop.

The NGO firmly states that families should not bear the burden of public service failures alone. The comprehensive protection of children necessitates effective, progressive, and sustained responses from the state. Recent government efforts include negotiations with Siemens and General Electric to address the electrical crisis in Zulia state and discussions between U.S. officials and the Ministry of Electric Power to reconstruct the national grid.

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We highlight that families should not face the impact of the precariousness of public services alone. The comprehensive protection of children, girls, and adolescents requires effective, progressive, and sustained responses from the State.