European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Colombia: EU supports basic health care for conflict-affected areas
Colombia continues to be hostage to a nearly 6-decade internal conflict.
In 2016, the government signed a peace agreement with the largest guerrilla group, the FARC. However, the implementation of the accords did not yield the expected results, and several other armed groups remain active across the country.
Civilians continue to suffer the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing conflicts and other forms of violence. They are systematically targeted, particularly in the Pacific Coast and border regions.
Providing basic healthcare in the most conflict-affected areas of Colombia is proving more challenging by the year since health workers are being systematically targeted. This leaves communities living in areas most subject to violence extremely vulnerable and exposed.
The EU works with an array of humanitarian partners, including Médecins du Monde (MdM) to ensure even the most isolated communities receive basic health care.
Water tanks, mobile medical clinics, and mosquito nets are among the actions that the EU has funded through MdM. In photos, see how we are helping conflict-affected communities in Colombia.
The department of Chocó, on the Pacific coast of Colombia, is one of the most conflict-affected areas. Its indigenous and Afro-descendent communities are the hardest hit. They often live on land that non-state armed groups want for illicit activities.
Armed non-state actors active in Colombia regularly impose forced confinement as an instrument of territorial control. Entire communities are forced not to leave their homes, even for months, and have no access to basic services.
Accessing medical care is impossible during forced confinement: travelling by river, even for many hours, is necessary to reach the clinics. The risk of being captured by non-state armed groups forces people not to seek medical attention.
Forced confinement is also one of the causes of malnutrition. Communities cannot leave their villages or homes, which makes it extremely complicated to work and buy the food they need most.
According to the UN, nearly 60,000 people were forcibly confined in the Pacific Coast in 2022, with Chocó as the most affected department. The EU is funding Médecins du Monde to ensure they can access basic medical care.
With EU humanitarian funding, Médecins du Monde rehabilitated 9 health posts and organised mobile medical clinics that provided 16,000 primary health care interventions and provided professional psychological support to more than 4,300 people.
Humid climate and high rainfall put rural communities at high risk for vector-borne tropical diseases. MdM staff have mapped and rehabilitated water tanks, conducted awareness sessions on how to prevent diseases, and distributed 400 mosquito nets.
Médecins du Monde staff mitigate risk of vector-borne tropical diseases in rural communities via awareness sessions, water tank rehabilitation, and 400 mosquito net distribution.
