News Alert: COVID-19 Economic Ramifications Threaten Already Fragile Humanitarian Situation in Colombia

Colombia is in the midst of a 19-day quarantine to curb the spread of COVID-19. The quarantine is already having severe economic ramifications, particularly for the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants and refugees who are now unable to earn an income in the informal work sector. Hugh Aprile, Mercy Corps’ Country Director in Colombia, explains:

 “The immediate economic crisis spurred by COVID-19 in Colombia threatens to push the health crisis even further out of control. With Colombia under quarantine, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants and refugees working in the informal sector – like selling food on the street – are now unable to earn any income. Many migrants participating in our programs were already struggling to make enough to pay for a night or two’s worth of lodging. We’re seeing evictions tick up, which means more people back on the streets who are now more vulnerable to contracting and spreading the virus. The humanitarian crisis Colombia faces as it hosts nearly 1.8 million migrants and refugees will only deteriorate as a result.”

 In Colombia, Mercy Corps is working alongside other leading aid organizations to reach nearly 90,000 people over 15 months with emergency cash assistance across eight departments of Colombia where Venezuelan migrants have settled. Because of COVID-19, we’re making adjustments so that we can still safely deliver assistance. For people who have already received emergency cash cards through our program, in late March we digitally topped up their cards with two months’ worth of payments instead of one, knowing that they will likely be cash restricted in the days and weeks ahead. For new participants, we will also begin distributing hygiene kits along with their cash cards and piloting the use of mobile money. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, we are pursuing innovative ways to continue delivering aid safely and as quickly as possible to Venezuelan migrants and refugees and Colombians in need of humanitarian assistance.

Mercy Corps has been working in Colombia since 2006 and last year reached nearly 150,000 people.