Unraveling the Water Crisis in Venezuela

This brief, based on a conference held at CSIS, discusses the water crisis in Venezuela, it challenges, and the steps that need to be taken to improve the situation. The brief highlights the ways in which the water crisis has impacted children, particularly in terms of child mortality, child health, and child development.

Despite ranking as one of the world’s top 15 countries in renewable fresh water resources, nearly 8 out of 10 Venezuelans do not have continuous access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation. For most citizens, the water they sporadically consume is of dubious quality or not drinkable. Clean water in Venezuela has become a luxury, and even with price controls set in place, a bottle of water is about $3, a significant portion of the country’s minimum wage of approximately $8 a month.