---
title: "NRC in Ecuador"
description: "In recent years, Ecuador has experienced a nightmarish descent into violence, with successive governments proving unable to rein in organised crime and drug gangs. Despite hard-line security measures and attempts at nightly curfews, homicide rates continue to soar and the country is now considered the most violent in Latin America."
url: "https://www.nrc.no/countries/south-america/ecuador"
language: "en"
published: "2025-03-20T15:13:42Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T13:33:13Z"
---

# NRC in Ecuador

Greicerlys (left) and her mother Greici took part in NRC's education programme in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Photo: Karen Dávila/NRC

In recent years, Ecuador has experienced a worrying descent into violence. Despite security measures, homicides continue to be reported on a daily basis, and the country is now considered the most violent in Latin America.

Published 20. Mar 2025 Updated 22. Sep 2026

[Ecuador](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=48)

A growing number of people are fleeing Ecuador, while the country is itself home to a significant population of refugees from other countries. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is supporting these families with the safe water, shelter, education and protection they need to survive and overcome the effects of displacement.

## What’s happening in Ecuador?

Ecuador is experiencing significant violence and humanitarian consequences, from forced displacement and child recruitment to deadly explosives and extortion, as organised criminal groups continue to terrorise neighbourhoods by targeting homes, schools and local businesses. In addition, drug trafficking has been a big problem in Ecuador, thanks to its location between the world’s main cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, and its porous borders and major Pacific Ocean ports. In many communities, the daily reality of organised crime is as devastating as living through an armed conflict.

For many years, Ecuador has also been a country of arrival and transit for refugees and migrants, particularly people fleeing the crisis in Venezuela. With spiralling levels of violence and continued droughts and flooding, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, leaving 1.9 million people across Ecuador urgently need humanitarian support.

## Our response

We’re working with our partners in the following areas:

- **Water, sanitation and hygiene** – distributing hygiene and sanitation kits, improving water infrastructure and sharing good hygiene practices.
- **Shelter and settlements** – providing displaced families with access to emergency shelter and longer-term, more permanent places to stay.
- **Education** – helping children to stay in school, distributing teaching materials, working alongside teachers and carers, rehabilitating schools to improve safety and accessibility and providing young people with vital vocational training. .
- **Protection from violence** – ensuring displaced families stay safe by preventing and responding to violence and coercion.
- **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

**NRC office established:** 2019

**Areas of operation:** Azuay, Cañar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona Santiago, Orellana, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo, Sucumbios, Tungurahua

**Country Director:** Giovanni Rizzo

**Contact:** [co.nrc@nrc.no](mailto:co.nrc@nrc.no)

## Our impact

In 2025, we assisted 32,910 people through our programmes in Ecuador:

- 2,323

  Education
- 742

  Livelihoods and food security
- 3,762

  Shelter and settlements
- 3,686

  Protection from violence
- 26,892

  Information, counselling and legal assistance
- 400

  Water, sanitation and hygiene
- 1,765

  Multi-purpose cash assistance

***Note:** some people received more than one type of assistance.*

### News and stories

Press release

## [Ecuador: Organised criminal groups target education every week](https://www.nrc.no/news/2026/ecuador-organised-criminal-groups-target-education-every-week)

08. Sep 2026 | Ecuador

## [The world’s most neglected displacement crises](https://www.nrc.no/feature/2026/the-worlds-most-neglected-displacement-crises-2025)

04. Jun 2026 | Feature

## [10 things to know about the humanitarian situation in Ecuador](https://www.nrc.no/feature/2026/10-things-to-know-about-the-humanitarian-situation-in-ecuador)

04. Jun 2026 | Feature

[More news and stories](https://www.nrc.no/search?searchCategories=123,125,172,335,48&searchMethod=1)

### Publications

## [Securing land rights for Colombian refugee women in Ecuador and Panama](https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/securing-land-rights-for-colombian-refugee-women-in-ecuador-and-panama)

23. Mar 2015 | Colombia|Ecuador|Panama

## [Housing, land and property rights for Colombian refugee women and persons in need of international protection](https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/hlp-rights-for-colombian-refugee-women-in-need-of-protection)

28. Oct 2014 | Colombia|Ecuador

[More publications](https://www.nrc.no/search?searchCategories=124,131,132,175,178,314,315,48&searchMethod=1)

**Region:** South America  
**Population:** 18.29 million  
**Total displaced:** 443,783  
**Refugees hosted:** 467,887