UN warns of child recruitment risk after

The United Nations warns that a recent earthquake in Colombia could increase the risk of child recruitment by armed groups in the departments of Chocó and Valle del Cauca. The 7.4-magnitude quake on 10 August damaged over 3,800 educational facilities, affecting the education of more than one million students.

UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia María José Torres Macho stated that recruitment was already a concern in these conflict-affected areas before the disaster. She told reporters at UN Headquarters that the situation of children being out of school could exacerbate this problem. For the UN, restoring access to education is a priority to return children to protective environments.

Emergency in conflict zones

The earthquake left 331 people dead, 4,449 injured, and 219 missing. More than 406,000 people have been affected across 15 departments and 496 municipalities. Many of the hardest-hit areas were already facing high levels of poverty, isolation, and armed violence.

Torres Macho noted that the pre-existing conflict is creating challenges for both the emergency response and recovery. She said the areas most affected are those most vulnerable.

Challenges in assessment and aid

In Chocó, the UN still lacks complete information on the needs of some rural Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities. Damage to roads, difficulties travelling along rivers, and problems with electricity and connectivity are hampering assessments and aid delivery.

Conflict-related displacement continues alongside the earthquake response. In Sipí, Chocó, around 95 Afro-Colombian people were displaced from Charco Hondo, with concerns that displacement could spread to two neighbouring communities.

The UN official highlighted the role of local authorities and Indigenous and Afro-Colombian organisations as first responders in isolated areas. She also warned that some municipalities have limited capacity and are overwhelmed by the scale of the emergency.

Since 10 August, the UN system and humanitarian partners have reached around 72,000 people in 36 municipalities across Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, and Caldas. They have provided food, water, medical care, medicines, shelter, psychosocial support, protection, and education services.

Funding and supply shortages

Following the earthquake, the UN updated its humanitarian response plan, estimating that 1.2 million people need assistance. Within that group, around 127,000 have been identified as among the most severely affected and in need of priority support.

Torres Macho said the response requires $148.1 million, but only 40 per cent of that has been received. Among the most urgent needs are shelter, medical care, medicines, safe water, education, and support to restore livelihoods.

In some places, available supplies are already running out. In Caldas, food and hygiene distributions have relied partly on donations, but stocks are being depleted. There is not enough capacity to sustain the next rounds of assistance.

Problems persist in temporary shelters. Among those assessed in Chocó, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, and Caldas, 33 per cent have sanitation and hygiene needs, 31 per cent face problems accessing water, and 22 per cent need food.

The response will also need to move quickly towards recovery and reconstruction, particularly in communities that were already vulnerable before the earthquake. Torres Macho stressed the importance of supporting municipalities with urban planning to avoid reproducing vulnerability and creating another disaster.