Jean Philippe Antolin (IOM) on the updated humanitarian situation in Colombia following the earthquake - Press Conference

the process and its outcome. Okay. On that note, I don't see any questions online. So if we could put our guest up on the screen, that would be most useful. Jean-Philippe, can you hear us?

Yes. Can you hear me?

Perfectly. Great. Well, again, we're joined by Jean-Philippe Antolin, who is the IOM's humanitarian response recovery specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean. He's briefing us from Colombia. So please, you go ahead and then we'll take some questions.

Thank you. And I think it's in the order of the day to wish you happy birthday. Okay, good afternoon. Good morning. I'm speaking to you today from Quibdoo, capital of Colombia's Choco department, one of the worst affected by the 7.4 earthquake that shook the country 10 days ago. IOM is working alongside the government of Colombia, local authorities, local partners, and other UN agencies to support the national response to the emergency. The full picture of the impact is still emerging, but according to preliminary data by the National Disaster Risk Management Unit, 282,000 people have been affected. Amongst these, we have many who have lost their loved ones, their homes, children have lost their schools, and communities no longer have access to something as simple as a park or as essential as a hospital. Nearly 163,000 homes are affected and undergoing structural evaluations. Aiming to complement the government-led response, IOM launched this morning a flash appeal of 30 million USD to expand its earthquake response in the initial six months. Our appeal aims to cover both urgent, life-saving help now and a gradual shift toward longer-term recovery, including shelter, managing accommodation sites, clean water and sanitation, healthcare, protection for vulnerable people, and helping communities to rebuild. Within the UN system, IOM is leading the coordination of the Shelter and Site Management Cluster here in Colombia, with our team supporting the identification of affected populations, the assessment of priority needs and gaps in assistance in these areas. To date, alongside local authorities, we have marked at least 71 temporary collective accommodation sites, which host 4,700 people, equivalent to 1,400 households across Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Choco and Caldas. We're also supporting the National Disaster Risk Management Unit with registration of affected people here in Quito, in Cali, and we will extend this support to Pereira over the weekend as well. Recent heavy rains across Colombia's Pacific region, including Pereira, Buenaventura, and here in Quito, have further worsened living conditions for many earthquake-affected families. These conditions have increased shelter, water, sanitation, and protection needs. particularly for people in open spaces, community centers, sports fields, schools, public buildings and churches. The rain is also making it easier for epidemic vectors diseases to spread, such as dengue, which is especially dangerous in shelters where many people live close together. The need for shelter and support remains high. Humanitarian partners say more housing options, including community shelters, temporary hotel stays, host families and rent support are needed for families whose homes were destroyed, badly damaged or no longer safe. Repair kits and household basics such as sleeping mats, bedding, cooking supplies and items for privacy will be essential to help people live safely and with dignity. Getting these supplies to the hardest-to-reach areas remains a major challenge. and most partners are working together to overcome it. There is also an urgent need to strengthen roofing, drainage and waterproofing in existing locations while continuing to register affected populations, whether in collective sites with host families or rental housing. At this challenging time, IOM commends the rapid and decisive response of the Colombian government, as well as the dedication and solidarity of authorities and emergency response teams working on the ground. will continue supporting the government's response to every stage of this emergency and recovery, working with other sectors and planning for the future so communities are better prepared for the next disaster. Back to you, spokesperson.

Thank you very much. We'll start with Edie Leder, Associated Press.

Thank you very much on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association for doing this briefing and giving us this update. What are the most urgent needs today for the earthquake victims? And I know we're still in an emergency phase, but when do you expect the recovery and reconstruction efforts to begin? Thank you.

Please go ahead, Jean-Philippe.

Thank you. Thank you, Edith, for the question. Most urgent needs, yes, it's been 10 days, so pretty much everything is still urgent. There's communities that haven't been accessed yet or have only been accessed once. We must continue to provide blanket coverage of several items from shelter to food to health. Among those many most pressing urgent needs, I will say also the need for information. People need to know. People need to know whether the house is safe, structurally sound. From outside, some might not look affected, but if you go inside, you will see cracks everywhere. People are sleeping outside for fear of the roof collapsing over their heads. They need the structural evaluations to carry on, someone to tell them it's safe or unsafe to be there. and where they are at the moment, they need to have access to the most basic needs and to have commodities and to live safely and with dignity. This is what's happening in all of those places that we've mapped. People living with other families or in alternative settings also need that support. They are in crowded conditions, but they They won't be able to stay there long if they don't receive help. And we don't want shelters to become magnets as the only places where people could access assistance. And that's exactly what the government is doing right now, figuring out where everyone is, what they need as the other phases start. Your second question about recovery. Well, what we say is recovery starts from day one, and it does. people will start figuring out how they are, where they are, what they need, how they're going to rebuild. Government is already working on potentially rental assistance. We see them every day out mapping, informing people where to go, how to register, regardless whether we're owners, renters, whether the livelihoods are gone or not, to to be sure that they benefit from the due process. But it takes time. It's been only 10 days. And as that progresses, the most urgent need continues to be to assist them. We see a lot of solidarity happening still in Colombia, from CSOs, from civil society, from private organizations. But we know by experience that that at some point will run short and it's not coming in the volumes and to the places that need it most, so rural areas. That's because of access, it's not happening yet. So the blanket coverage needs to continue, access improved as people know where to go and how the different streams of help will reach them. Back to you.

Thank you, Murad.

Thank you, Murad from Al Jazeera Arabic. Could you elaborate more in regard the international response, either on fund or aid or the general, the other immediate priorities?

And apologies, I don't have the full picture of that. That would be on foreign affairs and not just, but we certainly see it, I mean, speaking with partners, with other UN organizations. with the Red Cross movement. I see several people have launched appeals. Funding is starting to mobilize. In fact, from some donors, rather fast for UN. That was from the US that has made 5 million of our 30 million appeal funded already. We've seen bilateral aid also arriving. I'm here in Quito. Yesterday, I saw the Argentinian Air Force that had landed, I think it was before in in Cali, they took off at the end of the day. I saw a US airplane today. So aid is still arriving. The volume of it, the quantity of it, I do not have, and I would like if I venture, I guess, but it is happening.

Thank you. Any other questions? All right, well, Jean-Philippe, thank you very much for that very comprehensive update. We wish you all the best and as well as all the UN colleagues who are down in Colombia.

Thank you and thank you for the opportunity and solidarity with Colombia.

Thank you.