Location: A contribution of more than US$395,000 from the Government of Spain to WFP will allow the UN agency to continue providing humanitarian assistance to almost 8,000 Colombian nationals in Ecuador who have fled the conflict in their home country.
“I would like to thank AECI (the Spanish International Cooperation Agency), the Spanish Government, and the people of Spain for this significant donation. It will greatly help the Colombian refugees – especially the most vulnerable – get on with their lives until the situation at home becomes more stable,” said Helmut Rauch, WFP Representative in Ecuador.
Refugees
Refugees entering Ecuador are concentrated primarily in the border provinces of Esmeraldas, Sucumbíos, Carchi, Imbabura and Pichincha.
In 2005, the Government of Ecuador, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and WFP developed an operation to address the needs of the Colombian refugees.
Since August 2005, WFP has been distributing monthly food rations to 6,300 people.
Extension
Although the operation was initially planned to last one year, the increasing flow of Colombian nationals seeking refuge from the conflict made it necessary to extend the operation for an additional eight months, expanding the number of beneficiaries by 1,200 people.
For WFP, the cost of this extension is approximately US$800,000.
“Thanks to this new donation from the Government of Spain we are able to continue the operation and guarantee the food security of the refugees,” said Rauch.
Potential friction
“We intend to give food assistance to a total of 7,500 people. This will allow the refugees to live with dignity and also help to avoid potential friction between them and the local border-area population who themselves are living in difficult conditions”, Rauch added.
Compared to the rest of the country, the border zone suffers from lower social indicators in health, education, basic services and security.
Contact usAlejandro Chicheri
WFP/Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel: +507 3173900
Cell. +507 6675-0617
alejandro.chicheri@wfp.org
Trevor Rowe
WFP/Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel: +507 3173974
Cell. +507 6674-2601
trevor.rowe@wfp.org
Brenda Barton
Deputy Director
Communications
WFP/Rome
Tel.
+39-06-65132602
Cell. +39-3472582217
(ISDN line available)
brenda.barton@wfp.org
WFP/London
Tel. +44-20-72409001
Cell. +44-7968-008474
gregory.barrow@wfp.org
Christiane Berthiaume
WFP/Geneva
Tel. +41-22-9178564
Cell. +41-792857304
christiane.berthiaume
@wfp.org
Cécile Sportis
WFP/Paris
Tel. +33-1-70385330
Cell. +33-6161-68266
cecile.sportis@wfp.org
WFP/Washington
Tel. +1-202-6530010
Ext. 1149
Mob. +1-202-4223383
jennifer.parmelee
Bettina Luescher
WFP/New York
Tel. +1-212-9635196
Cell. +1-646-8241112
luescher@un.org
