Central America

Central America & Mexico
ECHO FACTSHEET
shortage
Facts & Figures
European
Commission's
humanitarian aid to
Central America and
Mexico since 1994:
€203 million, out of
which €16.5 for the
2014-2015 period
European
Commission's
funding for Disaster
Risk Reduction actions
since 1998: €68.6
million
ECHO is the European
Commission’s Humanitarian
Aid and Civil Protection
department.
Through ECHO funding,
nearly 120 million people
are helped each year in more
than 80 countries outside the
EU through approximately
200 partners (International
non-governmental
organisations,
the Red Cross/Red Crescent
movement,
and UN agencies).
European Commission –
Humanitarian Aid and Civil
Protection
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: (+32 2) 295 44 00
echo-info@ec.europa.eu
For further information
please contact Hilaire Avril,
ECHO's Regional Information
Officer for Latin America:
Hilaire.Avril@echofield.eu
http://ec.europa.eu/echo
* All the latest ECHO
Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
A drill tests local emergency response in Nicaragua, as part of a disaster preparedness project.
©EU 2013/EC/ECHO/I.C.
Key messages

Disasters caused by natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
floods, hurricanes, landslides and droughts frequently impact Central
America and Mexico. The European Commission has provided humanitarian aid
such as temporary shelter, food assistance, clean water and proper
sanitation in all the major crises that have impacted the region in the past 20
years.

Vulnerability to disasters is extremely high due to unplanned urbanisation,
climate change, widespread poverty and high levels of violence. Disaster Risk
Reduction* (DRR) is therefore a priority in order to mitigate these challenges.

About one third of the assistance has been channeled to increase the
resilience* of vulnerable communities and their institutions, by identifying risks
and taking measures to reduce them to be better prepared to respond to natural
hazards.

In the framework of the EU Children of Peace initiative, the Commission is one
of the few donors addressing the specific humanitarian consequences for children
of high levels of violence in Mexico and the Northern Triangle of Central
America (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala).
Humanitarian situation and needs
Central America and Mexico are highly exposed to a wide variety of natural hazards
such as floods, hurricanes, landslides and droughts, leading on a recurrent basis
to disasters affecting vulnerable communities. Due to its location in the Pacific Ring
of Fire, the region is also prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Rapid
unplanned urbanisation and the effects of climate change add to vulnerability, and
when disasters strike, the poorest communities are usually the most affected.
Droughts are frequent and their consequences include significant losses of
subsistence crops and livestock, with a direct impact on the nutrition and livelihoods
of the population. This happens in a context of deep inequalities and widespread
poverty.
ECHO Factsheet – Central America – December 2015
When a disaster hits the region, the most pressing needs are usually temporary shelter, food, safe water
and proper sanitation, primary health care, basic relief items, as well as hygiene promotion (to prevent
waterborne diseases), infrastructure repair and assistance to recover from agricultural or livestock losses. Given
the high level of vulnerability, empowering communities and their institutions to prepare for and respond to natural
hazards is a major need.
Some countries suffer from extremely high levels of violence. With only 2% of the world's population, this region
accounts for 18% of homicides worldwide. According to the 2014 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), homicidal violence in the Northern Triangle results in considerably more civilian casualties than in
most countries, including some with ongoing armed conflicts or war, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo or
Afghanistan.
The European Union's Humanitarian Response
Funding
Since 1994, the European Commission has allocated €203 million in humanitarian aid to Central America and
Mexico. Approximately two thirds (€131 million) has been used to respond to emergencies: floods, droughts,
epidemics, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, internal displacements and the humanitarian consequences of organised
violence. The remaining third (€68.6 million) has been invested in preparing vulnerable communities and their
institutions to face extreme natural phenomena.
Response to emergencies
In 2015, the Commission has allocated €4 million for emergency food assistance for the most vulnerable food
insecure populations in Guatemala and Honduras affected by drought, the coffee rust plague and other consecutive
shocks that overall caused high food insecurity for more than 2.5 million people in Central America. In addition,
€337,000 have been allocated to respond to the protection needs of children and adolescents affected by
conflict and Other Situations of Violence (OSV) in Honduras, by promoting access to formal education and safe and
secure learning environments. Some €11 000 were provided to assist the most affected by the river spill in La
Pasion River, Guatemala, in July and an additional €59 000 were released to assist the population of Santa Catarina
Pinula (Guatemala) most affected by massive landslides in early October, which left 280 dead and about 70 people
missing. Aid provided consisted of medical care, psychosocial support, and cash transfer programmes. In
2014, €750 000 were allocated in response to food insecurity in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and
Nicaragua, €262 419 to assist people in earthquake-affected areas of Nicaragua and Guatemala and €500 000
for EU Children of Peace projects to support access to education and protection services in Mexico and
Guatemala for unaccompanied and separated Central American children who have fled insecurity and violence in
their countries.
In 2013, the Commission allocated €2.8million to assist the population affected by the coffee-rust plague in
Central America and the dengue epidemic in Honduras and Mexico, and €2 million to respond to the
humanitarian consequences of the intensification of violence, when access to basic services is hindered by
armed groups, also affecting the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Reducing the impact of natural hazards
The Commission integrates Disaster Risk Reduction in all projects to the extent possible or through specific actions.
The Disaster Preparedness programme DIPECHO focuses on strengthening the capacities of local communities and
institutions, by enabling them to identify the risks, take measures to reduce them and be better prepared to respond
to natural hazards, therefore also increasing their resilience. Activities include support for early warning systems,
education and awareness campaigns, training, small infrastructure works to reduce risks and protection of livelihoods.
The 2014-2015 DIPECHO programme grants €11 million for disaster preparedness activities benefiting 500 000
people in Central America.
As part of the Disaster Risk Reduction efforts, €3.5 million has been allocated in the last four years in the Dry
Corridor (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) to strengthen the resilience of communities exposed
to droughts, a recurrent phenomenon in the region.
Disaster preparedness pays off and save lives, as many experiences demonstrate in this region. On 10 April
2014, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 hit Nicaragua. Preparedness actions carried out through DIPECHO
programmes enabled the Local Response Brigades (BRILOR) to respond rapidly and evacuate people from areas at
risk to safe zones.
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Central America
December 2015 - Page 2 /2