Colombia

In the isolated rural areas of Meta, Guaviare, Nariño, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Chocó Departments the nearest health centre is sometimes several hours away on foot or by dugout canoe. In these conditions, accessing the most basic health services is extremely dangerous.

Armed violence and population movements make women and sexual minorities vulnerable.

The frequency and severity of extreme weather events linked to climate change also lead to humanitarian need and exacerbate the vulnerability of local Colombian communities as well as of refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

The effects of the La Niña weather pattern in the last few months of 2021 had serious consequences for the lives and livelihoods of the communities affected, in particular due to the impact of severe flooding and torrential rain, especially in coastal areas.

Access to healthcare, including emergency care, suffered large-scale disruption. In 2021, around 600,000 people were affected by natural disasters.

The political and humanitarian situation in Venezuela is having huge repercussions in Colombia.

Colombia hosts more Venezuelan migrants than any other country, with 1.9 million displaced people, accounting for 43% of the 4.2 million Venezuelans in the region (including dual nationals and people commuting between the two countries). Only 20% of them have access to healthcare services and social security and they are particularly at risk from sexual exploitation networks, drug trafficking and forced recruitment.

Médecins du Monde also focuses on protecting survivors of sexual violence, supporting them to set up self-help groups and ensuring they receive holistic care and treatment that respects their rights at healthcare facilities in Meta, Guaviare, Nariño, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Chocó.

The projects include workshops for communities, healthcare institutions and community leaders on issues such as domestic, gender-based and sexual violence and how to identify and report incidents and provide support.

Médecins du Monde supports many people throughout the country at different points on their migration journey. In 2021 projects to provide assistance to migrant groups centred on Bogotá, Soacha, Cali and Ipiales, on the border with Ecuador.

The aim was to support the groups most at risk (minors and victims of sexual and labour exploitation) and to ensure migrants in transit receive healthcare and psychosocial support. In 2021, 45% of primary healthcare services were provided to migrants and over 60% of the sexual and reproductive health consultations were for migrant women.

Médecins du Monde took action to address Covid-19 by incorporating it into our biosecurity protocols and integrating isolation and prevention measures into our programmes. A procedure was drawn up for the referral of suspected cases to health centres. All our project teams ran workshops with the local population and community leaders on prevention and identifying positive cases.

We also implemented two emergency medical assistance projects in Colombia’s Amazon region (Amazonas, Guainía and Vichada Departments) to support the medical services and help with controlling the epidemic in indigenous communities through prevention and health promotion activities. This region was particularly badly affected by the virus, with high rates of cases and deaths.