NRC in North of Central America and Mexico

Humanitarian overview

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (the countries constituting North of Central America or NCA) and Mexico, are experiencing devastating humanitarian crises. These crises are driven by generalised violence, recurrent extreme weather events, political instability, and other factors. For the second consecutive year, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in NCA has increased and it is now estimated at a staggering 9.3 million (OCHA 2022), almost 30 per cent of the overall population.  

According to OCHA, as of 2022, 4.8 million people are in need of protection assistance and over eight million are food insecure. Two years after the devastation of hurricanes Eta and Iota, dramatic weather events forced again tens of thousands of people to flee, and harvest and livelihoods were lost, and vital infrastructure damaged.  

Meanwhile, the number of people crossing NCA and Mexico in extremely dangerous conditions aiming to enter the United States keeps reaching new heights, overwhelming migration and protection authorities across the region.  

NRC's operation

NRC has been working in the North of Central America (NCA) since 2014, meeting the needs of tens of thousands affected by violence and natural disasters, including the internally displaced, refugees, people in need of international protection, deported people, and their hosts.

We contribute to the development of policy aiming to protect the rights of the displaced and we call for increased humanitarian funding and engagement on processes that will generate structural changes in protection and assistance in the region.

Education

We work to ensure that children and youth have access to education and safe schools, despite violence and displacement. In collaboration with local communities and local and national authorities, our teams:

• identify out-of-school children and youth and prepare them to resume education activities and gain basic skills to remain safe
• promote and provide safe education opportunities, including flexible learning modalities, according to their needs
• strengthen the capacities of local communities and institutions

Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)

To protect those who had to flee their homes, as well as those deported back to the region, we:

• provide information and counselling on humanitarian assistance, asylum procedures, and other legal pathways for people in need of international protection
• support authorities at local and national level to develop legal frameworks or improve practices to protect the rights of the forcibly displaced
• provide services to ensure access to Refugee Status Determination (RSD) and housing, land and property rights
  
  

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) promotion

To support those affected by displacement, violence and natural disasters we:

• upgrade and maintain collective centres ensuring the good functioning of sanitation and handwashing facilities
• rehabilitate schools to help children access a learning environment where safety requirements are met
• work with school staff and communities to promote hygiene practices and messages
• build the capacity of local organisations and institutions to respond to displacement emergencies, in line with the international humanitarian standards

Livelihoods and food security

We support vulnerable displaced people with restoring their livelihoods by providing resources, training and coaching on running small businesses.  

We also work with community centres to offer livelihoods training to vulnerable populations by strengthening development plans, improving curriculum designs and investing in equipment and materials for training programmes. 

Our livelihoods and food security teams also work with communities in rural areas exposed to climate hazards and food insecurity. We help implement climate-smart agricultural practices and make food production systems climate resilient, while supporting the most vulnerable households with emergency cash to cover immediate basic needs including food.

Protection from violence

We assist people affected by forced displacement to protect their rights, and mental health and physical security. We take a case-by-case approach to working to reduce peoples’ exposure to violence and enhance their resilience.

We support communities with recognising protection risks and developing self-protection strategies. We aim to empower people facing protection risks, and support duty bearers to improve their protection responses accordingly to protection minimum standards. In collaboration with other humanitarian actors, we also collect and analyse information on mixed migration movements, aiming to contribute to the development of operations that respond to the mixed migration crisis.  

Visit NRC Latin America’s website in Spanish here.