Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean - Overview (March 2025)

What is happening in Latin America & The Caribbean?

Latin America and the Caribbean, the most unequal region in the world and the second most disaster- prone, faces increasingly severe crises. Food insecurity and violence have reached unprecedented levels, with 27.3 million people in need in 2025. To address these humanitarian needs, more than $2.17 billion is required. The convergence of extreme weather events, violence, low economic growth, inequality, political instability, and mass migration increases risks and limits the region's ability to respond and recover from crises and disasters.

What are Pooled Funds?

Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) and regional funds managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) play a crucial role in providing strategic and flexible humanitarian funding. These funds distribute $1.3 billion annually, primarily supporting local and national NGOs on the front lines, ensuring humanitarian action is as local as possible and as international as necessary. OCHA currently manages 16 CBPFs and four regional humanitarian funds, extending the benefits of pooled funds to countries without them, facilitating rapid resource distribution to new actors. In 2024, the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (RHPF LAC) was established to strengthen humanitarian action in the region.

What does this mean for the region?

RHPF LAC provides a stable and flexible platform for donors to respond to humanitarian emergencies in the region, whether sudden disasters, escalating crises, or prolonged crises. RHPF LAC currently has country envelopes dedicated to Colombia and Haiti. It is designed to complement other humanitarian funding sources, such as bilateral funding and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The Fund aims to attract new donations from donors, including regional member states, the private sector, and civil society in the affected countries.

How does the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for Latin America & the Caribbean work?

The OCHA regional office in Panama manages the RHPF LAC. Country envelopes may be adjusted based on changing needs, donor interest, and partner capacity. The United Nations Resident Coordinator or Humanitarian Coordinator in each country oversees the fund, with support from an Advisory Board and in coordination with national mechanisms. Colombia and Haiti are currently the top priorities. Over time, additional countries may be included based on humanitarian needs and donor interest. The RHPF LAC may also expand to support responses to events such as El Niño or hurricanes affecting multiple countries.

Haiti

Humanitarian needs in Haiti have been growing since 2021 as armed groups have driven widespread violence, causing basic services to collapse and sharply increasing protection risks. By 2025, an estimated 6 million people will need humanitarian aid. Nearly half the population—about 5.5 million people—faces food insecurity, and 1 million have been displaced.

On top of these crises, recurring natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods have worsened the situation. Without bold action to reduce violence, secure funding, and ensure a stable environment for aid, conditions will continue to deteriorate.

The funding for Haiti is designed to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs through a coordinated, multisectoral approach focused on key areas and priorities. It will direct humanitarian funding to the partners best equipped to reach the most vulnerable communities, with a strong emphasis on supporting local organizations.

Colombia

In Colombia, armed conflict, extreme weather events, migration pressures, and persistent poverty—especially among Indigenous communities—continue to drive humanitarian needs. These challenges are most severe in areas where non-state armed groups exert control, restricting access to essential services. By 2025, an estimated 8.5 million people will require humanitarian assistance.

The funding for Colombia is designed to address urgent needs stemming from conflict and disasters while also supporting displaced people, migrants, and vulnerable refugees—based on need rather than status—particularly in areas facing multiple crises. It also takes existing funding gaps into account.

Beyond strengthening local response capacity through training for national and local actors, the approach promotes greater involvement from local partners to ensure aid is managed more inclusively and sustainably.

This funding aligns with the Flagship initiative, which seeks to drive innovation in community-based programming and identify lasting solutions to humanitarian challenges.