There are 1.8 million IDPs according to official figures 80 percent of IDPs lack access to healthcare in Chocó, Norte de Santander, and Nariño Colombia has the highest rate of new antipersonnel landmine accidents worldwide: 1,115 in 2005. Between 1 January to 16 August 2006, 646 new victims were registered. 96 percent of accidents occur in rural areas Ethnic minorities (Afro and indigenous) are among the most vulnerable, suffering direct consequences of the internal armed conflict 52.6 percent of the Colombian population lives under the poverty line and 17 percent in extreme poverty

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CERF assists flood-stricken Colombia

8 August 2007: Heavy rains followed by floods and landslides have been hitting Colombia since mid-January, killing 58, with 11 people still missing. The disaster affected almost 550,000 individuals (or more than 110,000 families) in 28 out of the country’s 32 departments. 529 houses were destroyed and 12,000 severely damaged.

While the authorities have been largely able to cope with the crisis, Córdoba was declared “a state of public calamity” and La Mojana “a disaster zone” as the government’s assistance will cover needs only through early August.

Colombians wade through water [Photo: UNICEF]

Along the Sinú and San Jorge rivers in Córdoba department, 16 out of 28 municipalities are completely flooded. The National Agency for Disaster Prevention and Response (DGPAD) estimates the number of affected people at almost 54,000, including 15,000 who resist evacuation for fear of losing their belongings. Some 10,000 hectares of crops and livestock serving as food subsistence and purchasing power have been lost. Educational facilities are being used as temporary shelters, but these are not enough to meet the humanitarian needs. In addition, they do not offer the appropriate water and sanitation conditions nor the necessary health and nutrition services. Infectious and skin diseases as well as diarrhoea have started to spread, especially among children.

In La Mojana region, consisting of 11 municipalities in three departments, 20,000 families are at risk. Majagual can only be reached by boat and water and sanitation conditions are precarious. The local hospital has been completely flooded. In Guaranda, the medical centre is submerged and respiratory diseases are spreading. In Sucre, 80% of the urban and 100% of the rural areas are flooded. In Achi, three temporary shelters have been set up, but they lack adequate sanitary conditions. In Magangue, almost 1,200 hectares of productive crops were destroyed and over 3,100 animals killed.

Flooding in Colombia [Photo: IOM]

The CERF grant of over $900,000 is enabling the World Food Programme (WFP) to supply emergency food assistance for 90 days to some 30,000 people in La Mojana and 25,000 people in Córdoba. The UN agency will carry on the government’s efforts to ensure food security by supplying rice, pulses, vegetable oil and sugar until the affected population will have recovered its livelihood. To do so, WFP is first identifying the most vulnerable zones, mostly situated in rural areas.

With a CERF allocation of almost $800,000, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is installing 33 shelter modules built on raised wooden stilts to assist some 68,700 people of the flooded localities in LA Mojana region. Each modular shelter can lodge 30 individuals and comes with toilets for men and women, a common kitchen, the possibility to collect rain water to drink and an anaerobic wastewater treatment system.

The UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) is using its $550,000 CERF grant for a water and sanitation programme benefiting over 27,000 people in villages in Córdoba department. It is training members of the local water and sanitation authorities, in particular in order to increase their capacity to conduct rapid needs assessments and to implement emergency measures. UNICEF is also promoting, among 2,500 families at the household and shelter level, the consumption of safe drink water, the adequate disposal of excreta and solid wastes and (personal) hygiene activities. In this context, the UN agency is distributing jerry cans and water purification tablets, constructing temporary latrines, and pumping, cleaning and disinfecting contaminated wells.

[Last Update: 10 August 2007]

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CERF in Colombia 2008

CERF in Colombia 2006