Colombia: Humanitarian Response Plan Summary 2023

Colombia experienced a change of government as of August 2022. Within the new government’s agenda, the implementation of Total Peace and the promotion of socio-economic equity and environmental justice are some of the priorities of the new administration. However, during 2022, humanitarian impacts caused by climate variability that generates disasters continued, mainly due to the La Niña phenomenon and events related to the internal armed conflict. The humanitarian impacts caused by these factors continue to exceed the response capacity of both government entities and Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) partners in Colombia. As a result, an estimated 7.7 million people are expected to have humanitarian needs (PIN) in 2023 and will require complementary assistance from humanitarian actors according to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO).

With this context in mind, humanitarian actors in Colombia developed the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for 2023, which reflects the strategy and priorities of the coordinated multi-sectoral response for 1.6 million people, focusing on the populations identified as most vulnerable, such as communities living in municipalities with the presence of non-state armed groups, and in areas at high risk of disasters, giving priority to women, children, ethnic communities (Afro and indigenous) and persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the HRP provides a geographical scope for humanitarian response in 2023 based on the areas of greatest impact, risk and where the capacity of national institutions is limited, and the complementary humanitarian action is required. In 2023, the Pacific coast, the departments bordering Venezuela, the Orinoco-Amazon region and the north-west of the country are the priority regions for the implementation of the HRP. Moreover, areas doubly affected by armed conflict and climate variability, as well as other high-risk regions, are also prioritized and monitored.