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NEW YORK and CHOCÓ, Colombia - Action Against Hunger has stepped up its humanitarian response in the Colombian department of Chocó following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake recorded on 10 August, the strongest to hit the country in the past decade. As assessments of the extent of the damage continue, the organization is focusing its efforts on reaching rural and hard-to-reach communities, where thousands of families have been affected and severe damage to homes, infrastructure and basic services persists.

In Chocó, some of the main response gaps are concentrated in rural and scattered areas, where access difficulties, damage to roads and bridges, landslides, and power and communications outages are hampering the delivery of aid and the assessment of humanitarian needs. In the municipality of San Jose del Palmar alone, more than 29 landslides linked to the earthquake have been recorded.

"Our teams are already deployed to provide humanitarian assistance in the affected municipalities through the distribution of essential supplies. From our office in Chocó, we have taken part, from the very first moment of the emergency, in coordination spaces with institutions, authorities and community organizations," explains Mario Dager, Action Against Hunger humanitarian worker in Colombia.

Assistance in Rural Communities

The organization has already begun assisting affected families in several municipalities. In El Tabor, a rural community in Tadó, it has distributed kits to ensure access to safe water, including filtration and treatment systems, hoses, storage tanks and other essential items.

In Nóvita, the organization has deployed a humanitarian team to assist affected families, particularly those from rural areas. As there is no collective shelter operating in the municipality, many families remain temporarily housed with relatives or in community support networks. There, Action Against Hunger has distributed shelter kits, family hygiene kits, menstrual hygiene kits, baby kits and food kits, in coordination with local authorities and risk management bodies.

In Quibdó, the organization is supporting people housed at the Municipal Coliseum, where it has delivered family shelter kits to cover the basic needs of the 104 people temporarily sheltering there. It is also working with local foundations and authorities to identify priority households and facilitate affected families' access to official assistance mechanisms.

Reaching Isolated Communities

Over the coming days, Action Against Hunger will continue expanding its monitoring of the situation and identifying needs in municipalities with less visible impacts, including Sipí, Medio Baudó, Lloró and Medio San Juan, in addition to continuing the work already under way in Nóvita and Tadó.

"Our main challenge now is reaching the rural communities that remain isolated and where we are still completing assessments. In many places it is not possible to know the real extent of the damage until teams manage to physically access them. That is why we are combining immediate assistance with ongoing needs identification work, to make sure no one is left out of the response," explains Mario Dager, Action Against Hunger humanitarian worker in Colombia.

Immediate priorities: safe water, shelter, food and health

The first assessments carried out by Action Against Hunger and humanitarian coordination bodies identify safe shelter, drinking water, food, sanitation and hygiene as immediate priorities. There is also growing concern over the increasing pressure on the health network, which requires medicines, medical supplies and specific assessments of rural health facilities.

On water and sanitation, authorities have requested support to rehabilitate water supply systems in several affected municipalities, as well as the supply of materials for water purification, storage and safe access. Local authorities have also flagged an urgent need for materials to rehabilitate damaged homes and infrastructure.

In addition, some affected families remain temporarily housed in the homes of relatives or community support networks, which increases the need to distribute shelter kits and cash assistance to help cover extraordinary expenses arising from the emergency.

A response that will need to be sustained over time

"In the coming weeks, it will be essential to move from emergency response towards early recovery. Rehabilitating water systems, repairing homes and restoring livelihoods will be decisive in enabling families to rebuild their lives," says Noelia Monge, Head of the Emergency Team at Action Against Hunger.

Action Against Hunger will continue providing assistance, assessing needs and coordinating its intervention with authorities, community organizations and the rest of the humanitarian actors. The response will keep adapting and expanding as teams are able to access new communities and as the main unmet needs are confirmed.

Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 26.5 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across over 55 countries, our 8,500+ dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.