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Colombia: Migration and Health Program - Activities for COVID-19 preparedness and response, May 2020

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Colombia
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IOM
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CONTEXT

As of May 1, 2020, the country’s epidemiological situation for COVID-19 showed 7,006 cases and 214 deaths in 26 departments, 5 districts and 222 municipalities. By the end of the month, there were 29,383 cases and 939 deaths, representing a significant increase and a geographical distribution that had spread to 31 departments, 5 districts and 399 municipalities.

The increase in cases may be related to the country's diagnostic response capacity, which went from processing 557 samples per day in March of this year to an average of 2,769 samples per day in April and 7,171 samples per day in May. Other aspects that may be relevant to transmission dynamics were the reactivation of various commercial sectors, the disruption of public order, protests and increased recruitment of children and youth by armed groups. The foregoing has led national and local authorities to decree an orange alert and curfews and establish binational agreements with Brazil (supervision of informal steps and exchange of information) and Peru (recording of the evolution of COVID-19 and establishment of an action plan). On May 28, Decree 749 was issued, by which mandatory preventive isolation was extended until July 1, 2020.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) established the Global Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response to COVID-19, aligned with the WHO Response Plan, to support Member States in responding to this emergency. The Migration and Health (M&S) program technically and operationally adapted the actions of four projects, making the intervention lines more flexible to the extent and urgency of needs derived from the COVID-19 emergency. It is an exercise in innovation in the approach to health access in the context of human mobility and peacebuilding:

  1. Institutional and community strengthening to support the health response plan for the Venezuelan migrant population and host communities, financed by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) in 13 departments and 24 municipalities.
  2. Community Stabilization and Health Care Program, financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 13 departments and 24 municipalities.
  3. Strengthening Community Health Surveillance and Evaluation of Epidemic Diseases, financed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Soacha, Cundinamarca.
  4. Health for Peace - Powering Communities, financed by the United Nations Multi-Donor Fund (MPTF) in 26 municipalities where the Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR) are located.

The IOM, through its Migration and Health (M&S) Program, activated a national crisis management team, led by the COVID-19 and 13 interdisciplinary territorial teams, comprising 52 professionals who are experts in public health, epidemiology, nursing, psychology, social work, and information systems, as well as 58 community health workers who provide support to the territorial health authorities and local hospitals for the care of the migrant population and host communities. Additionally, the program activated a team of 26 nursing professionals who support the response in the country’s dispersed rural communities, including ETCRs.