Colombia Appeal

Children in Colombia face multiple crises, including armed conflict, displacement, gender-based violence, disease outbreaks, migration challenges, malnutrition and the impacts of climate change. In 2025, an estimated 13.4 million people, including more 4.2 million children, will require humanitarian assistance. 

Armed conflict continues to devastate the lives of 9.7 million people in Colombia, with children often bearing the most severe consequences. The situation has worsened with rising displacement, child recruitment into armed groups, gender based-violence, landmine and unexploded ordnance accidents, attacks on schools and movement restrictions. In the first half of 2024, more than 183,400 people were confined or displaced due to clashes between armed non-state actors. Armed non-state actors and criminal organizations are reported to be present in more than 40 per cent of the country. The Ombudsman's Office has raised concerns about the expansion and consolidation of non-state armed groups in Colombia. As of October 2024, the Ombudsman's Office of Colombia had issued 323 early warnings have been issued, with 83 per cent related to the imminent risk of child recruitment by these groups – a phenomenon on the rise since 2021 and one that testifies to the territorial control exerted by these groups. Moreover, attacks on schools jumped from 107 in early 2023 to 125 in 2024. The suspension of the dialogue between the Government and armed non-state actors has resulted in an escalation in violence, child recruitment, incidents involving improvised explosive devices and attacks on schools. Beyond these human-caused threats, in 2023, natural disasters displaced 351,000 people.

Refugee and migrant children face escalating crises, including violence, family separation and a lack of access to protective services. As the country hosting the highest number of Venezuelan migrants in the region, with more 2.8 million as of January 2024, Colombia’s migrant and refugee population faces critical humanitarian needs. Children among these populations require immediate action, including a stronger protective environment to prevent violence and family separation. Unaccompanied and separated children require enhanced protective mechanisms, the establishment of effective monitoring systems and support for regularization and documentation processes. 

Moreover, refugee and migrant children require improved access to early childhood development, to services for prevention and response to gender-based violence, secondary education, menstrual health and essential health and nutrition services. Among refugee and migrant populations, 15 per cent of pregnant women and 41 per cent of children under age 5 lack critical services. Nineteen per cent of surveyed households rely on unsafe water sources; this includes 14 per cent of the most vulnerable refugee and migrant households.

UNICEF will collaborate with authorities and partners to address humanitarian needs arising from armed conflict, violence, migration and climate-related disasters. Efforts will focus on the most severely impacted regions of Colombia. An approach grounded in the humanitarian–development–peace nexus will balance life-saving assistance with initiatives promoting resilience and sustainable access to services. 

UNICEF will implement prevention and response interventions addressing child recruitment, mine action, gender-based violence, child marriage, mental health, psychosocial distress and family separation. UNICEF will help enhance local capacities to respond effectively, empowering adolescents and families in crisis settings. 

UNICEF will support the return to school for out-of-school children and promote safe learning environments and learning continuity in crises. UNICEF will also support the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration and provide mine risk education. Collaboration with teachers, leaders and government authorities will help develop disaster preparedness and response plans tailored to various ethnic groups. 

In health and nutrition, UNICEF will enhance comprehensive primary health care and nutrition services in remote communities. The focus will be on preventing and treating malnutrition in children under age 5 and addressing undernutrition during pregnancy. Ongoing monitoring and support of cases of malnutrition will ensure long-term success. 

UNICEF’s WASH interventions will use a community-based approach to improve services in health centres, schools, shelters and settlements. UNICEF will promote safe hygiene practices and distribute hygiene kits to prevent waterborne diseases and will also distribute menstrual hygiene management kits. Technical assistance and capacity-building for service providers are priorities.

UNICEF will support the Government in strengthening its shock-responsive social protection system by supporting government cash transfer programmes to reach vulnerable families, improving targeting mechanisms and enhancing local authorities’ capacities for planning and financing. 

UNICEF is committed to accountability and to involving affected populations, and especially girls and women, in decision-making. An important arm of work will be improving programme design and strengthening systems for protection of populations from sexual exploitation and abuse. 

As part of its role in implementing the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan and the Humanitarian Response Plan for Community Priorities, UNICEF will lead the child protection, education, nutrition and WASH clusters. UNICEF will emphasize and promote localization, community engagement – especially girls' engagement – and preparedness, evidence-based decision-making and sustainability. The organization will enhance decentralized service provision through its field offices and will expand integrated service packages that are gender-responsive and inclusive. One priority will be collaboration with local authorities and with youth-led organizations, particularly those led by and working for such vulnerable groups as girls and adolescents and Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. Additionally, UNICEF will scale up services in regions severely impacted by crises and foster climate resilience through community-based solutions.