A notice posted in the emergency department of Caracas’ Vargas Hospital on June 28 outlined a clear protocol. Any case involving a child had to be referred directly to IDENNA and the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, both of which had staff stationed in the pediatric emergency unit. At the time, hospital staff and council officials reported that five children were being treated there.

The following day, the walls outside the emergency rooms at Pérez Carreño Hospital were covered with handwritten notices listing missing people and patients admitted after the earthquakes. Amid the crowds, Child Protection Council officials were on site but declined to speak to the press. An IDENNA staff member said 24 children were being treated at the hospital and that all were accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.

The atmosphere was quieter at the University Hospital of Caracas, where a few missing persons posters included QR codes linking to a Ministry of Health database of patients receiving treatment. There were no Child Protection Council officials stationed at the hospital.

The pediatric emergency department said no children were unaccompanied; however, a physician in the intensive care unit said a teenage girl, Yasbelis Daniela Cortez González, whose name does not appear in the Ministry of Health’s patient database, was there without her parents.

The doctor, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, said he only hopes her family can find her.

“For years, public administration capacity had been declining,” says Lily Torres, president of Asonacop, “and a crisis like this only magnifies those weaknesses exponentially.”

She points to long-standing shortcomings in child protection councils before the disaster: limited office supplies, understaffed teams, and incomplete multidisciplinary units — the psychologists, social workers, and other specialists who should support protection officers in their daily work.

In response, Cecodap and REDHNNA recommend creating a national emergency coordination system to prevent responses from relying on improvisation. They propose a permanent platform where IDENNA, child protection councils, prosecutors, courts, health authorities, and civil society organizations can follow shared procedures, exchange information, and coordinate family reunification.

The organizations also stress that information itself is part of child protection. They call for official verification systems and regular updates to reduce misinformation and prevent further risks.