Highlights

While the Amazon rainforest is one of the planet's main lungs, the Amazon River and its hundreds of tributaries are its arteries and veins, but now dried up and depriving hundreds of thousands of people of a decent living.

The Rio Negro in Manaus is at its lowest level ever since it has been monitored (1902) amid what is considered the most severe drought ever.

The State of Amazon in Brazil declared 59 out of 62 municipalities in emergency situation (as of 19 October 2023).

There are an estimated 146,000 families affected, totaling more than 600,000 persons.

The Government response plan involves support for affected families by distributing food ration, personal hygiene kits, sodium hypochlorite, draining and desilting rivers (to open the way to boats), renegotiating debts and promoting rural producers, anticipated social assistance and provision of generators to secure energy in affected municipalities.

UNICEF is advocating and supporting the Amazon State to define and implement anticipatory child-sensitive measures, considering the likely upcoming impacts on children’s health (diarrhea, acute malnutrition), protection and education, and is coordinating its response with other UN agencies present on the ground.

UNICEF Brazil has reprogrammed $US 90,000 to quick start a first response and is mobilizing its private sector for strategic donations.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Fifty nine out of 62 municipalities of the Amazon State in Brazil are currently facing a drought emergency.

The affected surface represents about 1,5 million km², 18% of Brazil's territory and three times the size of France.

In addition, although rains have resumed over Peru, the national disaster center released a bulletin projecting a high likelihood of very limited rainfall over the Amazon in the next two months, while rains normally start in October.

The level of the Rio Negro at the Manaus port reached a historical record with only 13.59m, beating the previous lowest level registered in 2010. This is the lowest level ever from since when the water level has been monitored, in 1902 (Manaus Port).

The low level of the Rio Negro means that the transport of the most basic and essential products (food, medicine, fuel) is compromised throughout the western part of the state, as most secondary and tertiary tributaries are dried up.

As a result, hundreds of communities and towns in the region are isolated. The rivers are no longer navigable, making the transport of cargo and passengers impossible. Preventive and adaptive displacement is occurring, although little data is available. According to a quick survey undertaken by UNICEF with the municipal Social Assistance Secretariats, there are about 3,000 families displaced with children and six emergency shelters active. According to the Indigenous Health Special Secretariat, 44 indigenous villages are totally isolated and about 1,500 are partially isolated. The lack of water and the precariousness of the response are having a huge impact on mental health, with partner municipalities stating that rural communities are showing a worrying picture in terms of mental health.

Amid a period of severe droughts, the State also recorded the worst fire index of the year. According to a survey by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), 6,991 fires were recorded in September, the second worst result for the month since 1998, affecting the whole population of Manaus (>2 million people) and surroundings. This resulted in heavy smoke in Manaus and surrounding areas, reaching a critical life-threatening air quality level (index 324 - WAQ Index) directly affecting the most vulnerable, including children and pregnant women.