--- title: "NRC in Colombia" description: "Six decades of armed conflict have left Colombia facing the most prolonged and serious humanitarian crisis in the Americas. Millions of people have been forcibly displaced and are in urgent need of help – along with an unprecedented number of people from neighbouring Venezuela." url: "https://www.nrc.no/countries/south-america/colombia" language: "en" published: "2025-03-20T15:05:45Z" modified: "2026-09-22T13:32:12Z" --- # NRC in Colombia Sebastián, Jose and Tatiana are displaced within Colombia. They hope to return to home one day. Photo: Natalia Delgado/NRC Six decades of armed conflict have left Colombia facing one of the most serious and prolonged humanitarian crises in the Americas. Colombia remains one of the top three countries with the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, with millions forcibly displaced and in urgent need of help. Published 20. Mar 2025 Updated 22. Sep 2026 [Colombia](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=41) At the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), we’re doing everything we can to help displaced families in Colombia – by focusing our efforts on hard-to-reach areas, where the authorities are struggling to provide protection and essential support. ## What’s happening in Colombia? Despite a peace agreement in 2016, armed conflict continues to torment the people of Colombia, with organised armed groups controlling large rural areas. Entire communities, particularly rural Afro-Colombian and indigenous ones, are confined to their homes, while others are forced to flee. Every single day, somewhere in Colombia, a new group of people is forced from their homes or trapped by conflict. In areas with limited state presence, families struggle to access protection, education, shelter, clean water, food and legal support. Intensifying conflict and violence have a devastating impact on civilians, leaving many in Colombia in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Colombia also hosts one of the world’s largest populations of refugees and migrants in need of international protection, including people from Venezuela and elsewhere. Despite the scale and complexity of the crisis, Colombia’s humanitarian response remains underfunded and lacks sufficient international support, leading NRC to rank Colombia as the world’s third most neglected displacement crisis. ## Our response In addition to emergency response delivered whenever critical needs arise, we’re working with our partners in the following areas: - **Water, sanitation and hygiene** – distributing hygiene and sanitation kits, improving water infrastructure and teaching good hygiene practices. - **Shelter and settlements** – providing displaced families with access to emergency shelter and longer-term, more permanent places to stay. - **Education** – helping crisis-affected children access and stay in school, distributing teaching materials and providing young people with vital vocational training. - **Protection from violence** – ensuring displaced families and communities stay safe by preventing and responding to violence, coercion and actions that deny them their rights. - **Information, counselling and legal assistance** – helping people access legal documentation, procedures and support to exercise their rights. [Download the factsheet for NRC in Colombia, Ecuador and Panama](https://www.nrc.no/resources/fact-sheets/nrc-colombia--fact-sheet) ## Our operations **Established:** 2005 **Areas of operation:** Arauca, Bogota, Buenaventura, Cali, Cucuta, Florencia, Guapi, Ipiales, Maicao, Medellin, Ocaña, Pasto, Popayan, Puerto Asis, Quibdo, Riohacha, San Jose del Guaviare, Santa Marta, Tumaco and Villavicencio. **Country Director:** Giovanni Rizzo **Contact:** [co.nrc@nrc.no](mailto:co.nrc@nrc.no) [View NRC in Colombia's website in Spanish](https://nrc.org.co/) ## Our impact In 2025, we assisted 143,879 people through our programmes in Colombia: - 26,904 Education - 10,499 Livelihoods and food security - 14,503 Shelter and settlements - 15,282 Protection from violence - 71,464 Information, counselling and legal assistance - 48,887 Water, sanitation and hygiene - 3,267 Multi-purpose cash assistance ***Note:** some people received more than one type of assistance.* ### News and stories Press release ## [Colombia: International aid saves lives and sustains hope for solutions among displaced communities](https://www.nrc.no/news/2026/colombia-international-aid-saves-lives-and-sustains-hope-for-solutions-among-displaced-communities) 24. Sep 2026 | Colombia ## [Inside the aftermath of Colombia’s earthquake](https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2026/inside-the-aftermath-of-colombias-earthquake) 21. Aug 2026 | Colombia Press release ## [Colombia: Conflict affected families have lost everything yet again](https://www.nrc.no/news/2026/colombia-conflict-affected-families-have-lost-everything-yet-again) 14. Aug 2026 | Colombia [More news and stories](https://www.nrc.no/search?searchCategories=123,125,172,335,41&searchMethod=1) ### Publications ## [Cash for Urban Assistance (CUA) – ADN Dignidad: External Evaluation](https://www.nrc.no/resources/evaluations/cash-for-urban-assistance-cua--adn-dignidad-external-evaluation) 31. Aug 2024 | Colombia ## [The world's most neglected displacement crises in 2022](https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/the-worlds-most-neglected-displacement-crises-in-2022) 01. Jun 2023 | Burkina Faso|Burundi|Colombia|DR Congo|El Salvador|Ethiopia|Mali|Sudan|Venezuela|Cameroon ## [Evaluation of NRC’s Protection and Humanitarian Assistance for People Affected by the Humanitarian Crisis on the Colombia-Venezuela Border](https://www.nrc.no/resources/evaluations/evaluation-of-nrcs-protection-and-humanitarian-assistance-for-people-affected-by-the-humanitarian-crisis-on-the-colombia-venezuela-border) 10. Apr 2017 | Colombia|Venezuela [More publications](https://www.nrc.no/search?searchCategories=124,131,132,175,178,314,315,41&searchMethod=1) **Region:** South America **Population:** 53.43 million **Total displaced:** 7.5 million **Refugees hosted:** 2.8 million