OCHA Year in Review 2020
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YEAR IN REGIONAL OFFICE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND REVIEW 2020 THE CARIBBEAN Acknowledgements This publication was produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC). This publication seeks to provide a comprehensive review of OCHA ROLAC’s actions in responding to the various humanitarian crises present in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2020, as well as actions undertaken with humanitarian partners to build a better-coordinated humanitarian community in the region. The figures used throughout this publication are from public reports available at the time of publication. They are not conclusive and are meant to be indicative of the overall scope of the various humanitarian scenarios in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2020. The designations employed and the presentation of material in the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. All national end-of-year COVID-19 statistics sourced from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 29 December 2020 Weekly Epidemiological Update, available at: https://bit.ly/2MiBpZA Front cover VENEZUELA The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and longstanding humanitarian scenarios such as ongoing migration through vulnerable communities in southern Venezuela led to overlap- ping needs throughout much of 2020, prompting humanitarian partners to scale up response like never before . Photo: OCHA/Gemma Cortes Foreword In reviewing 2019, we remarked that, as the the most active season in recorded history, The scope and reach of the pandemic and United Nations Office for the Coordination of with Eta and Iota battering Central America its influence on traditional dynamics also Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office in November and creating serious needs for allowed OCHA ROLAC to complement 17 for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), an estimated 8 million people living an area years of hard-won relations by engaging “we must draw on our ability to adapt and spanning south-eastern Mexico to western new partnerships and strengthening existing position ourselves to become even more agile Panama. connections. Through this outreach, OCHA and better prepared to provide core readiness ROLAC participated in newfound spaces at To meet the challenges posed by the and response support wherever and whenever the highest levels of national and regional pandemic, the region’s protracted crises and it is needed in the decade to come.” decision-making bodies. the impacts of recurring climate phenomena, Little did we know that the new decade UN agencies, funds and programmes and As we progress towards a slow and arduous would begin with a global emergency that humanitarian partners required a level of recovery, OCHA ROLAC must, now more than would affect every facet of life for the more financial support for their plans that easily ever, continue to fulfill its core mandate of than 650 million people in our region, an eclipsed requirements of years past, several providing effective humanitarian coordination emergency that has tested, and will continue times over. services to Member States and partners in to test, OCHA ROLAC’s ability to adapt like the face of evolving challenges, concerns, Through the implementation of these plans, nothing that has come before. partnerships and opportunities. Our mission OCHA ROLAC and partners received a would not be possible without our partners’ In Latin America and the Caribbean, the sobering glimpse of the potential escalation continued collaboration in preparedness and global COVID-19 pandemic found social, of humanitarian crises in our region; we response, generous financial and material economic and humanitarian vulnerabilities saw 2020 begin with a global pandemic support and open and frank dialogue in that all but guaranteed that any such taking root in the region and end with the helping OCHA ROLAC improve. pandemic would swiftly evolve from convergence of the painful challenges of an outside threat to monitor to a grim COVID-19, scenarios in Central America While it may be some time before our region homegrown nightmare. At the end of 2020, featuring rising COVID-19 cases in storm- returns to something close to a pre-pandemic Latin America and the Caribbean’s cumulative battered areas, renewed population state, OCHA ROLAC’s steadfast commitment caseload accounted for more than a fifth movements from communities still plagued to ensuring coherent emergency response of the global tally, while the regional death by weakened economies, chronic violence in Latin America and the Caribbean remains toll accounted for more than a quarter of all and limited access to increasingly strained resolutely in place to assist, and reduce the global deaths, despite accounting for under a services. suffering of, its people in need. tenth of the world’s population. However, OCHA ROLAC also saw partners We thank you for your continued support. The growth in humanitarian needs in our stay true to their humanitarian calling in the region during 2020 can only be described face of daunting circumstances, tracking as unprecedented, with the pandemic’s about 15,000 activities covering COVID-19 compounding effects on extant needs response in virtually every corner of the pushing millions deeper into vulnerability. region and hurricane response in countries Rogerio Mobilia Looking into 2021 and beyond, we fear the in Central America severely affected by Head of Office (a.i.) pandemic will continue to do so even with the Eta and Iota. OCHA ROLAC continued to Regional Office for prospect of hope on the horizon with ongoing support UN Resident Coordinators in leading Latin America & the Caribbean vaccination campaigns. Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs), providing traditional response support Even with this unparalleled growth in through nearly 50 missions across 15 needs and response, Latin America and the countries and multiple response plans and Caribbean must still deal with being the appeals, while also adapting and providing world’s second most disaster-prone region. virtual training sessions and simulations. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season became YEAR IN REVIEW 2020 4 LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN Latin America & the Caribbean OCHA Presence & Staffing in 2020 OCHA ROLAC operates out of Panama OCHA ROLAC City, Panama, home to virtually all UN and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Regional Office for Latin America and humanitarian regional offices covering Latin the Caribbean America and the Caribbean. OCHA ROLAC has 39 staff located across nine countries Mexico to provide flexible and agile support and Honduras Haiti surge capacity across Latin America and the Guatemala Caribbean and mobilize staff as needed to Barbados El Salvador PANAMA support preparedness and response. Venezuela OCHA ROLAC covers 45 countries and Colombia territories in Latin America and the Caribbean Ecuador and supports OCHA Country Offices operating in Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela. In addition to its presence in Panama, the Peru OCHA regional team also consists of expert presence via Humanitarian Advisory Teams (HATs) in Barbados, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru embedded in UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices, as well as regional support in Bolivia. OCHA ROLAC STAFF ACROSS The in-country HAT presence, typically THE REGION comprised of National Disaster Response 39 Advisors (NDRAs) with an active presence in national humanitarian networks and 1 Regional Office - ROLAC (Panama) supported in some cases by co-located 7 Humanitarian Advisory Teams Information Management Assistants, allows (HAT) - Barbados, Ecuador, El Salvador, for localized readiness, response capacity Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru and maintenance of strategic operational partnerships at the country level. 3 Country Offices - OCHA has offices in Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela working in specific humanitarian contexts By location: By country status: 26 13 27 12 Regional Office HAT National Staff International Staff By gender: By function: 20 19 16 13 7 3 Female Male Coordination Info. & Advocacy Administration Senior Management 12 5 Table of Contents P. 6 Response & Surge P. 10 Latin America & the Caribbean - COVID-19 P. 16 Central America - Hurricane Season P. 26 Regional Humanitarian Response P. 28 OCHA Colombia P. 29 OCHA Haiti P. 30 OCHA Venezuela P. 31 Humanitarian Financing P. 32 Coordination P. 34 REDLAC P. 35 Operational Readiness P. 36 Information & Advocacy P. 38 Gender P. 39 World Humanitarian Day P. 40 Donors P. 41 End notes YEAR IN REVIEW 2020 6 LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN Response & Surge Regional Humanitarian Snapshot 2020 ECUADOR The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across the region prompted immediate multi-sectoral response actions in countries such as Ecuador. Photo: UNICEF Ecuador RESPONSE & SURGE 7 41.8M+ $4.3B $1.3B PEOPLE TARGETED FOR IN HUMANITARIAN FINANCING IN HUMANITARIAN FINANCING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN 2020 REQUIRED FOR RESPONSE IN 2020 RECEIVED FOR RESPONSE IN 2020 Together with the region’s protracted crises and The collective response to humanitarian needs The $1.3 billion received for regional response in recurring climate phenomena, the massive impact during 2020 pushed financing requirements 2020, as reported to the Financial Tracking