Colombia country strategic plan (2021–2024)

CSP approved at EB.1/2021

Revision 01 approved by the ED-DGFAO in December 2022

Revision 02 approved by the ED in February 2024

Revision 32 approved by the ED in June 2024

During the last two decades, Colombia has achieved remarkable economic growth. It has also halved poverty, reduced extreme poverty by almost 70 percent and halved the number of undernourished people in the country, which speaks to the efforts made and the national commitment to achieving inclusive and sustainable development; however, the effort to ensure inclusive growth in all regions and populations and in all segments and social sectors prioritized by the Government faces significant challenges. Factors jeopardizing the good performance achieved so far include violence by illegal organized armed groups and the presence of illegal economies that impact the social fabric. In addition, extreme natural events and climate change continue to affect a significant proportion of the national territory. Meanwhile, the Final Agreement reached with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016 is being implemented, with several important measures under way to achieve a legally negotiated peace.

An unexpected development in recent years has been the massive inflow of migrants from the neighbouring Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as a result of the multidimensional crisis affecting that country. The response of the Colombian authorities, who have approached the inflow as an opportunity for development, sets a remarkable example at the global level, but the migration still presents a challenge in terms of providing humanitarian assistance while ensuring the social and economic integration of the migrants and their host communities. Colombia has also not escaped the profound consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, especially in terms of the social and economic impact of the preventive lockdown measures, which threaten the hard-won development gains achieved in the fight against poverty and malnutrition.

The key opportunities identified to support the Colombian Government in its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 2, on zero hunger, are thus linked to the management of humanitarian emergencies caused by multiple factors; the recovery and strengthening of the livelihoods of populations affected by violence, climate change and other shocks; quality assistance and the creation of development opportunities for migrants, Colombian returnees and host communities, as well as for the populations directly affected by the socioeconomic impact of coronavirus disease; the strengthening of public policies on food security and nutrition; and the enhancement of institutional capacity to serve the most vulnerable populations, including through inclusive social protection systems, emergency management, early recovery and post-crisis socioeconomic reintegration.

The country strategic plan has been formulated taking into account these gaps and opportunities, in alignment with the United Nations sustainable development cooperation framework for Colombia for 2020–2023, which is the product of a constructive consultation process with the Government and alignment with its priorities for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the national development plan for 2018‒2022, “Pact for Colombia, Pact for Equity”. These priorities are reflected in the three pillars of the United Nations sustainable development cooperation framework: stabilization: peace with legality; migration as a development factor; and technical assistance for the acceleration of catalytic Sustainable Development Goals. Based on these three pillars and consideration of how WFP can contribute to their achievement, the three strategic outcomes of the country strategic plan are as follows:

• By 2024, people and communities in a situation of food vulnerability in the PDET municipalities prioritized by the Government improve their quality of life by strengthening their resilience and sustainable livelihoods and local governments strengthen their capacities, contributing to the stabilization and consolidation of the territories, with the support of WFP and in coordination with the United Nations country team, as a complement to the efforts of the Colombian Government.
• Venezuelan migrants, Colombian returnees and members of host communities receive humanitarian assistance, equitable access to quality differential services and expeditious and massive access to the labour market and entrepreneurship options, with a focus on food security and nutrition, with the support of WFP and in coordination with the United Nations country team, as a complement to the efforts of the Colombian Government.
• The public policies, institutional capacity, systems and services for the promotion of food security, nutrition and social inclusion are technically strengthened and vulnerable populations have access to adequate and nutritious food throughout the year for the acceleration of catalytic SDGs, in particular SDG 2, with the support of WFP and in coordination with the United Nations country team, as a complement to the efforts of the Colombian Government.

The country strategic plan is designed around cross-cutting concerns that guide its interventions and enhance its transformative potential, both in rural and urban areas. Thus, it is designed to be gender-transformative, nutrition sensitive, environmentally and socially aware, adaptive to climate change and inclusive and protective of the needs of various people, including indigenous and Afro-descendant people. It also addresses the specific needs of people with disabilities and formulates solutions for their integration. The interventions will take place within a triple nexus approach, linking humanitarian assistance with development and the consolidation of peace in Colombia when conditions are met.

WFP will work with the United Nations country team and in strong strategic and operational partnership and coordination with the Colombian Government and its institutions at the central and local levels, as well as with other United Nations agencies, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and civil society entities, fostering partnerships with donors and other cooperation actors so that the expected results are fully achieved and a decisive contribution is made to accomplishing zero hunger and the end of malnutrition in the country.