Colombia
Colombia's armed conflict has spanned more than five decades and continues to have a profound impact on rural, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. War Child works with partners across the country to strengthen the resilience and wellbeing of children, adolescents and young people affected by armed conflict and violence.
The situation for children
Conflict between non-state armed groups, paramilitary networks and criminal organisations has affected Colombia for decades, as these groups compete for territorial control linked to illicit activities such as drug trafficking and illegal mining.
The ongoing violence has led to forced displacement, confinement, movement restrictions and the recruitment of children, depriving many young people of their futures.
The internal displacement crisis, compounded by the large-scale arrival of people fleeing Venezuela and the impacts of climate change, has intensified humanitarian needs in both rural and urban communities.
Our work in Colombia
War Child has been working in Colombia since 2006. Together with our partners, we deliver programmes that provide children and their communities with education, child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, and opportunities for youth advocacy. We focus our efforts on Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and rural communities in territories including Chocó, La Guajira, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Putumayo, Antioquia and Bogotá.
Evidence-based Methodologies used in Colombia
Play and movement-based psychosocial support
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Strengthening parent wellbeing and skills
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Supporting adolescent mental health
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Youth-led advocacy
- Research-grounded
- Youth advocacy
Community-led child protection
- Evidence-informed
- Child protection
Latest news from Colombia
- Child protection
Protection of children in Bogotá, Colombia: A feasibility study of a community-led child protection approach
Globally, about one billion children experience violence, affecting individuals, families, communities, and society. In Colombia, ongoing conflict and drug-related armed violence drive high violence rates.
- Child protection
Development process of a context-specific instrument to measure children's sense of protection (PROTECT)
Violence against children (VAC) is a global problem, and the development of empirical methods to better understand its nature is a step towards tackling this challenge.
War Child statement on magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia
We are thinking of the people of Colombia following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Chocó province early yesterday morning local time.
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Adolescent advisory groups in the ALIVE study: Feasibility and acceptability in global mental health prevention research
Adolescent involvement in mental health prevention research remains limited in low-resource settings. This study examined the feasibility, acceptability, processes and perceived impacts of adolescent advisory groups (AAGs) within the ALIVE research in Colombia, Nepal and South Africa.
- Advocacy
Amplifying youth voices at the United Nations Children and Armed Conflict Conference
Last month, War Child accompanied a group of four youth advocates to an international conference on Children and Armed Conflict in Malta where they designed and hosted their own session. The youth presented recommendations of over 100 child and youth participants from War Child’s VoiceMore programmes in Colombia and Uganda to UN Member States, agencies, and civil society.
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Combining self-regulation and poverty reduction to prevent depression and anxiety among adolescents experiencing multi-dimensional poverty in Colombia, Nepal and South Africa: study protocol of a pilot 4-arm cluster randomised controlled trial
Poverty is associated with depression and anxiety among adolescents, but evidence of interventions that prevent adolescent depression and anxiety among adolescents living in poverty is weak. Interventions either focus on reducing poverty or addressing depression and anxiety, but an approach that combines both may offer larger benefit.
