- New Humanitarian Appeal Targets 671,000 Vulnerable People as Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 319
NEW YORK: The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have launched a $148 million emergency appeal to support communities affected by a devastating earthquake that struck Colombia earlier this month.
The disaster has claimed at least 319 lives, affected more than 280,000 people and destroyed over 31,000 homes, while causing extensive damage to schools, community centres and healthcare facilities.
Emergency Assistance Prioritised for Most Vulnerable Communities
According to a UN spokesperson, the appeal was coordinated by the Humanitarian Country Team in Colombia to complement the government’s ongoing relief and recovery efforts.
The response plan aims to assist approximately 671,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people, with humanitarian support focused on critical sectors including healthcare, shelter, food security, nutrition, education, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
UN humanitarian partners have already provided assistance to more than 34,000 people across 18 municipalities. However, hundreds of thousands of affected families continue to face severe challenges in accessing essential services, livelihoods and basic infrastructure.
Earthquake Impact Compounded by Existing Humanitarian Crisis
The humanitarian situation has been further complicated by ongoing armed conflict in several affected areas, increasing pressure on already vulnerable communities and making the delivery of assistance more challenging.
The latest appeal comes in addition to the UN’s existing $472 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Colombia, bringing the country’s total humanitarian funding requirement for the year to nearly $620 million.
$35 Million Mobilised as UN Releases Emergency Funds
International donors have so far mobilised approximately $35 million in response to the earthquake.
In a further effort to accelerate emergency assistance, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher has allocated $5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support immediate relief operations.
UN Urges Donors to Close Critical Funding Gap
The United Nations has stressed that urgent additional funding is needed to prevent further deterioration of conditions among affected communities.
The UN warned that Colombia’s broader humanitarian response plan remains less than half funded, significantly constraining humanitarian organisations’ ability to deliver essential assistance to communities facing increasingly urgent needs.
The UN called on international donors to step up financial support, stressing that timely funding will be critical to saving lives, restoring essential services and helping earthquake-affected families begin the recovery process.
BY: The Times Union
