Bogotá, June 2026. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a humanitarian health response across 13 departments and 63 municipalities in Colombia through the Life-Saving Health Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Disease Outbreaks, Violence and Weather-related Emergencies in Colombia project.
During the project launch on May 28, 2026, PAHO Representative in Colombia Gina Tambini Gómez highlighted the initiative's expected reach and humanitarian impact. “This project is funded by the Regional Humanitarian Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (RHPF LAC) and will benefit more than 240,000 people over the next six months. We will work to ensure that resources reach those who need them most and that as many lives as possible are saved,” she said.
The response will focus on several priority areas, including community-based primary health care, support for health service networks, disease surveillance, and timely outbreak response, including the provision of medicines, medical supplies, and equipment.
Mental health and psychosocial support will also be a central component. The project will establish new services and expand existing interventions in nutrition, safe water, vector control, immunization, maternal and child health, telemedicine, and other essential health services.
“This initiative will be implemented in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the National Institute of Health, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), departmental and municipal health authorities, and all partners involved in the Health, Food Security and Nutrition, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) clusters,” Tambini Gómez added.
Tatiana Lemus, Director of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Colombia’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection, welcomed the initiative.
“This is a major and highly significant project that fills us with enthusiasm and hope. We believe it will bring together a major collective effort to reach those who need support the most,” she said.
More than 200 participants joined the virtual launch, including Chiara Capozio, Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Colombia; Diana Pava, Director of the National Institute of Health; and representatives of the Colombia Humanitarian Fund, the U.S. Embassy, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Departmental and municipal health officials from beneficiary areas, hospital directors, local coordination teams, and PAHO national and international advisers and consultants also participated.
