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IOM Vision
IOM, in partnership with other key strategic actors, seeks to strengthen institutional and community capacities to better prepare for and respond to crisis situations in El Salvador. IOM will contribute to efforts to address humanitarian needs arising from disasters, alongside the challenges arising from large-scale movements to and from the United States and Mexico, working to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities of affected populations and support sustainable recovery, reintegration and preparedness at national and local levels.
Context analysis
El Salvador is located in Central America, a region vulnerable to disasters, risks and intertropical convergence. The country experiences a variety of climatic events, including floods, hurricanes and droughts, particularly in the Dry Corridor, and is prone to geological events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (DGPC 2023). These recurrent shocks are becoming more intense; in the last seven years, storms and hurricanes have increased both in number and destructive force. Therefore, human mobility flows will continue at high levels, including outbound, transit, and return migration, as well as forced displacement within the country. The different impacts of these movements will maintain the need for temporary collective centres with effective management and coordination mechanisms to respond to people's humanitarian needs.
These recurrent shocks are increasingly more intense, and their causes and effects are linked to climate change, migration, and economic, social, political, and environmental factors. For example, El Salvador was struck by Tropical Storm Julia in 2022. The most flood-affected areas were vulnerable rural and shanty town communities, three of these communities were especially affected. At least 2,125 affected people were housed in 74 collective centers and 58 roads were damaged or blocked (OCHA 2022).
Global situations such as the pandemic, current dynamics and price inflation have led to the population being limited in obtaining employment, housing, social coverage, access to basic services, quality food, and education, among others. According to the Multi-purpose Household Survey (EHPM, 2022), in El Salvador there were approximately 62 people employed or offering their labour force for every 100 people of working age and the overall participation rate is higher for men than for women; of those employed people, only 35 out of every 100 have access to social security coverage, either public or private. At the national level 39% of households live in overcrowded conditions, with a prevalence of 52.5% in rural areas, land insecurity for housing in El Salvador is 9.3%, one of the indicators of housing poverty along with overcrowding, and deficiency of roof, floor, and wall materials. 26.6% of households are in poverty. Added to this, are climatic events such as the El Niño phenomenon, which has affected El Salvador's economy, contributing to discrepancies in income levels. These socio-economics factors are projected to deepen the vulnerability to disasters and other crises of various communities across the country, including the vulnerability to the effects of climate change and epidemics, increasing socio-economic and gender inequality, structural violence and food insecurity.
High poverty, recurrent climatic shocks, generalized violence, and limited access to services continue to deeply affect populations and communities, resulting in complex interlinked weaknesses and vulnerabilities, constituting drivers of migration and impacting the sustainability of returns. Between January 2022 and August 2023, 430,175 apprehensions were made in the United States from Northern Central American countries, of which 60,925 were people from El Salvador (IOM 2023). In addition, El Salvador has become a common transit country for irregular migrants on their way to the United States. Returnees from the North of Central America (NCA) are at risk of renewed displacement due to the lack of access to services, livelihood opportunities and inadequate housing, such as the approximately 7,602 migrants who returned to El Salvador between January and August 202), the 74.9 per cent expressed that the main reason for migrating is an economic factor (IOM 2023).
The El Niño phenomenon usually brings with it a mixture of drought, extreme temperatures, torrential rains and floods. During 2023 it has affected Latin America and the Caribbean, and it is expected to persist until May 2024 (OCHA 2023) so actions should be focused on mitigating the consequences derived from it.
In 2024 and 2025, IOM’s activities will focus on saving the lives of people affected by emergencies, strengthening the response capabilities of the National Civil Protection System of El Salvador, and providing humanitarian assistance and protection, as well as addressing the drivers and long-term effects of crises and displacement through investments in disaster recovery and prevention, strengthening disaster risk reduction and preparedness by government institutions, and building the capacities of local governments and communities.