Attachments
CONTEXT
- Communities in Colombia continue to face internal displacement or confinement, elevated protection risks, and limited access to basic services due to non-state armed group violence, affecting an estimated 8.4 million people in rural areas across nearly 550 municipalities. Additionally, an estimated 2.9 million people face severe risks due to climate shocks caused by the El Niño phenomenon in 2024, the UN reports. Recurring natural disasters continue to drive displacement, livelihoods loss, and humanitarian needs.
- The protracted economic and political crisis in neighboring Venezuela has caused nearly 7.8 million Venezuelans to flee their country; approximately 3 million have sought refuge in Colombia, according to the Regional Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V). The population influx has strained local services and exacerbated food, health, livelihoods, nutrition, protection, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs among Venezuelan migrants and refugees, and host community members in both rural and urban areas of the country.
- The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Colombia identified 8.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, with more than 5 million people facing severe humanitarian needs. The highest priority needs in 2024 include food and nutrition, health, protection, and WASH assistance for vulnerable Colombians that have been affected by internal conflict-related confinement, displacement, and violence.
ASSISTANCE
- USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) has provided nearly $697 million in assistance for the response to the Venezuela regional crisis in Colombia since Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, prioritizing emergency food assistance with a complementary focus on nutrition and livelihoods for Venezuelan migrants and refugees, as well as for vulnerable host communities. With USAID/BHA support, the UN World Food Program (WFP) is addressing acute food insecurity among migrant and refugee populations by providing emergency food assistance, including cash transfers for food, food kits, food vouchers redeemable in local markets, and hot meals, and food kits for populations in transit. USAID/BHA nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners also provide a range of emergency food assistance modalities—including multipurpose cash assistance and livelihood support—to the most vulnerable Venezuelan migrants and refugees. USAID/BHA-funded cash assistance programs reach thousands of individuals each month and enable people to buy food from local markets to meet their basic needs.
- Since 2011, USAID/BHA partners have also provided emergency food assistance to improve food security outcomes among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia. With USAID/BHA support, WFP and several NGO partners are providing food assistance, while also implementing activities designed to bolster agricultural production and livelihoods. In addition, USAID/BHA has supported five NGO partners since FY 2021 to provide critical protection interventions—such as psychosocial support services to respond to gender-based violence, specialized mental health services, and sexual and reproductive health training—shelter support, and WASH assistance to reduce the risk of disease transmission, including by distributing hygiene kits and increasing access to safe drinking water for populations affected by internal conflict-related confinement, displacement, and violence.
- USAID/BHA continues to provide early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience (ER4) assistance in Colombia through activities designed to increase preparedness and improve livelihood opportunities in communities affected by conflict and natural disasters. USAID/BHA supports Malteser International to bolster host community resilience through agriculture training and resources, protection services, and sustainable livelihood activities. Additionally, USAID/BHA—through the American Red Cross—is supporting the Colombian Red Cross to build resilience to climatic events by strengthening community awareness, integrating community-level preparedness strategies, and improving response capacity.