ActionAid Colombia’s staff and partner organisations are currently assessing the situation and beginning to launch a humanitarian response as the death toll from the disaster reaches 132.
Medical teams at the Barco Hospital San Raffaele, ActionAid’s partner organisation based in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, have already been deployed to the centre of the city, while others are on standby waiting to respond.
Ana Lucía López, director of the Barco Hospital San Raffaele, ActionAid’s partner organization in Colombia, said: “We had a team deployed in the rural area of Buenaventura. Right now, we are moving it to the urban center, because we’ve been informed by the Pan American Health Organization that Buenaventura is overwhelmed — the Santa Sofía clinic has suffered serious damage and they are evacuating the entire clinic, the hospital is overwhelmed, and they are asking us for joint support.
“So we’re going to bring our team, which is made up of three doctors and nurses, to see where they place us so we can provide alternate support. Also, from the Barco Hospital we are reviewing how, in Cali, we can provide support from the PMU [Puesto de Mando Unificado — Unified Command Post], we were asked to have a roster of professionals ready to support the public network, which is overwhelmed. That’s where we are right now, in Cali, waiting to see where we’ll be deployed. That’s the situation at this moment, we still haven’t received word from Chocó.
“Likewise, we are on standby to determine where we should go to provide support. We are waiting for the relief agencies to set the route, and once the emergency teams are activated, we are ready to provide support.”
Rescue teams and local communities are continuing to search damaged and collapsed buildings, while the full scale of the emergency is still emerging.
The earthquake has struck communities that were already living through armed conflict, displacement, food insecurity and unequal access to essential services. For many families, this is an emergency layered on top of years of hardship.
Egido Sanz, acting Country Director of ActionAid Colombia, said: “As the hours pass, we are learning the full magnitude of this tragedy. The number of people affected, and the number of victims continues to rise, as severe damage is confirmed to homes, roads, and other essential infrastructure and services — including health, water, electricity, and internet access.
“In the areas where we work, our partner organizations describe a very difficult situation, with communities that have lost their homes, difficulties accessing basic services that are already overwhelmed, and urgent needs that continue to grow. Together with our partner organizations on the ground, we are prepared to respond to this humanitarian emergency with a multisectoral intervention to meet the population’s most immediate needs — including cash assistance, food, basic and women-specific hygiene items, and health and gender-based violence prevention services — with particular attention to women, children, and people in situations of greater vulnerability.”
ActionAid is working with partner organisations already present in some of the regions most affected, including Cauca and Valle del Cauca, to understand where needs are greatest and to prepare a locally led response.
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Spokespeople are available for interview, and photos, testimonies and video footage are available on request.
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Stephanie Wulf, Senior Communications Manager, ActionAid Australia
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About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global women’s rights organisation, working with women on the frontlines of injustice – including the climate crisis, conflicts, and humanitarian emergencies. Our dedicated local staff work with more than 41 million people living in 71 countries, supporting women to transform their lives and their communities.