EU humanitarian aid for displaced persons in Colombia

The European Commission has granted €10 million to help internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia. Last year saw the number of IDPs rise by another 300,000, bringing the estimated total to almost 2 million. Managed by the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), this funding will in the course of the year extend aid to areas currently receiving little or no help from relief organizations. The strategy adopted involves a number of stages: emergency aid (food and basic necessities), post-emergency assistance (construction of shelters and sanitation, healthcare, psychological support) and help for the return and resettlement of displaced persons (farming and the rehabilitation of homes).

Despite the government's efforts to open peace talks with the main guerrilla movements, the violence seems to be escalating this year, bringing with it an atmosphere of increasing insecurity. €1 million has been set aside in case people start moving en masse to neighboring countries or a new humanitarian emergency occurs in Colombia.

This action plan will be carried out by a number of international agencies and relief organizations with which ECHO works in partnership, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Since 1997 ECHO has adopted four global plans for Colombia. This fifth plan brings total aid to Colombia to €34 million.

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• EU humanitarian aid for displaced persons in Colombia (8/4/2002)