"It helps us answer important questions and clear any doubts we may have"
In the heart of the Antonio José de Sucre community, east Caracas, leader Ivonne Medina has become a pillar of support for her people.
She remembers the first time she reached out to the UN Contact Line, when community members had expressed some protection concerns and she wanted to understand how humanitarian partners could assist: "I worried they wouldn't give me a straight answer, that it would take forever, or they'd find some reason to dismiss me."
The reality was very different. "They responded immediately and solved my problem in just minutes," she says. "Now that we know this service exists, we will use it much more."
Ms. Medina's story speaks to the effectiveness of the United Nations Contact Line in Venezuela, a resource for communities in vulnerable situations.
"The line is effective for our community because it helps us answer important questions and clear any doubts we may have," Medina says.
A vital feedback mechanism
A powerful tool to strengthen accountability to affected populations, the UN Contact Line has become a community feedback mechanism for delivering assistance to individuals and communities across Venezuela. Its story began in 2021, when the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spearheaded its creation.
Building on UNICEF's existing reporting line, they laid the groundwork for the UN Contact Line's current structure. The project started as a pilot in two Venezuelan municipalities that border Colombia.
Today, it has grown to include 11 UN agencies, providing nationwide coverage across all 24 states.
Earning the trust of communities
"We are always seeking new ways to complement our efforts in implementing accountability to the affected populations and to create a mechanism that facilitates two-way communications with them," Gianluca Rampolla, Venezuela’s Humanitarian Coordinator, explains.
Since 2021, over 43,000 people have contacted our team through five convenient channels: toll-free phone calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email, and face-to-face interactions. Of these, 88 per cent were from women aged 18 to 59, mainly participants or family members of food security and livelihoods, nutrition, and water, hygiene, and sanitation programmes.
We now have 19 referral and assistance routes connected with the humanitarian architecture to link with those most in need. Confidentiality is imperative because of the trust that people put in the system.
"The feedback received so far has informed several changes,” says Gabriel Irwing, the Focal Point for Accountability to Affected Populations and for the UN Contact Line with OCHA Venezuela.
“The interagency contact line has strengthened our ability to implement a truly people-centered approach, which is in line with the core principles of the Flagship Initiative."
