July 11, 2017

Food Security Situation

• Poverty, low food production and large-scale internal displacement due to years of conflict threaten food security among vulnerable populations throughout Colombia.
• In Colombia, half a century of conflict between the government and guerilla movements has resulted in one of the highest levels of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world. Over five million people remain displaced, approximately 80 percent of whom are women and children.
• Despite a recent peace agreement between the government and the largest guerilla movement, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the impacts of the conflict continue to burden those who were forced to leave their homes to find safety, as well as the host communities that have sheltered them.
• Due to few employment opportunities in displaced communities, households are unable to afford enough nutritious food for their children. As a result, almost 24 percent of displaced children suffer from chronic malnutrition, a rate that is twice the national average in Colombia.

Food Assistance Programs

• The Office of Food for Peace (FFP) targets approximately 25,500 food-insecure Colombians affected by violence nationwide. FFP partners with the UN World Food Program (WFP) to target poverty-stricken, internally displaced Colombians who lack access to food and experience high levels of malnutrition. WFP provides US in-kind food aid, local procurement, and food vouchers for a variety of emergency food assistance projects, including direct food distributions to IDPs, livelihood support through food for work and food for training, vulnerable group feeding and emergency school feeding.

Food for Peace Contributions

Total Contributions:

Fiscal Year 2017 Contribution Breakdown:

Food Security Situation information provided by WFP and UNHCR
FY 2017 contribution based on funds obligated to date