BOLIVIA, 1 March 2024 - More than 40,000 children in Bolivia have been affected by landslides, floods, and flash floods, and many forced from their homes, unable to attend school and more vulnerable to violence, Save the Children said.

The recent climate disaster - that has caused at least 42 deaths including 12 children - comes after torrential rains followed months of severe drought that dried up lakes and rivers, caused unprecedented heat waves and forest fires, and one of the country’s hottest winters. 

Extreme weather events in Bolivia are becoming more frequent and severe due to the climate crisis. The return of El Niño phenomenon this year has brought more intense weather extremes and a rise in temperatures, exacerbating the already accelerating impacts of the climate crisis. 

Save the Children Bolivia is working with the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Bolivia (CAHB), and the authorities of the most affected departments and municipalities to support those impacted. At present, all nine departments of the country - La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Oruro, Potosí, Chuquisaca, Tarija, Pando, Beni – are on the highest alert. 

This will include providing cash transfers to families affected by the landslide in the municipality of Achocalla, in the department of La Paz, where a 35-year-old woman and her two children were buried in a landslide. Cash transfers  help families to access basic supplies for their survival. 

Marianela Montes de Oca, Save the Children Bolivia Country Director, said: 

“Bolivia is suffering from this flooding. Thousands of children are being affected, and are exposed to multiple threats, including disease outbreaks, access to safe water, access to food, disruptions to education, and violence.  

“Climate disasters leave children homeless, out of school, hungry, and fearful that floods, flash floods, and landslides will take the lives of their loved ones. We are working with local authorities and communities to address these adverse events and related hazards, increasingly linking our humanitarian response work with medium- and long-term climate change adaptation.” 

A large part of the population in Bolivia is food insecure, mainly those in rural areas. Food insecurity in the country will continue to worsen as weather extremes become more severe and frequent, decimating vital farming and livestock. 

Save the Children has been working in Bolivia since November 1985. The charity focuses on education, health and nutrition, child protection, child poverty, governance, and humanitarian emergencies. In 2023 the organization supported more than 122,000 people, including about 83,000 children. 

ENDS