UN continues scaling up response to earthquake in Colombia

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN on Wednesday continued scaling up assistance to areas affected by the deadly earthquake that hit Colombia two days earlier.

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According to latest official figures, the 7.4 magnitude quake has left more than 200 dead and injured over 2,500, said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, briefing journalists in New York. 

Homes and public infrastructure have also been severely damaged. 

Humanitarian assessments are ongoing, particularly in the hardest-hit areas around Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, where disruptions to communications, transport and public services continue to impede relief operations.

Children face ‘growing risks’

“Children have seen their homes and schools damaged and are facing growing risks as essential services remain disrupted in the hardest-hit communities,” said, UNICEF’s Country Representative, Tanya Chapuisat.

The top children’s agency official in the country said UNICEF was mobilising “an early response in Chocó and Buenaventura in water, sanitation and hygiene to help reduce public health risks and protect the dignity of affected families while essential services are being restored and assessments continue.”

So far, the agency has reached 22,000 people in the Chocó and Buenaventura region along the Pacific coast – the epicentre of the quake – providing family hygiene kits, maternal care kits, menstrual kits and water storage tanks. 

UNICEF has been active in the Chocó region for over two decades, so it is coordinating its response with national and local authorities and partners. 

It is working with the Colombian Family Welfare Institute to strengthen child protection measures in the wake of the devastation.

Cash and food assistance 

Colombia was already facing a complex humanitarian crisis before Monday’s earthquake, due to continued conflict and climate shocks. Seven million people were already experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity in the country’s most vulnerable areas. 

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been active in Colombia for nearly six decades and has an established presence in some of the areas hit hardest by the earthquake. 

Responding to the Government’s request for international assistance, the WFP is mobilising support and is ready to assist communities.

The organisation’s pre-existing cash-programme activities can help families meet urgent needs, and its 4,500 tonnes of pre-positioned food stocks in Colombia are ready to be dispatched if necessary. 

“The stocks are located close enough to affected areas to enable a rapid response, with additional supplies available through WFP’s regional and global supply networks,” said Deputy Country Director Giulia Baldi.

Communities fear further aftershocks, she added: “The first 72 hours after an earthquake are crucial for search and rescue, and for positioning food and relief supplies before needs escalate.”

Rescue teams are continuing to search through rubble in the hardest-hit cities, with people of all ages continuing to be dug out alive. “Every minute is vital,” the mayor of Cali said on Tuesday.