A worsening context
HI has been present in Latin America and the Caribbean for several decades. Today, we work in seven countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, and Venezuela. As the region has the highest level of economic inequality in the world and is the second most disaster-prone1, the needs we see are tremendous. Crises and unrest break out regularly, and millions of people are forced to flee their homes for a better future. The context continues to worsen, and according to the United Nations, the region now hosts 38.9 million people in need2. Given this particular context, HI’s endeavors are directed toward making sure every person’s rights are protected, particularly persons with disabilities.
“In a context where governance, violence, migration, and cyclic disasters are part of citizens' routine, our strategy is to address all these issues, especially access to rights. We work with a diverse target population, such as migrants, refugees, survivors of natural or human-made disasters, and survivors of gender-based violence. Our goal is to ensure that they all enjoy equal human rights.”
To address the various types of violence and discrimination communities are facing in Latin America and the Caribbean, HI is focusing its operations on health, especially mental health and psychosocial support, rehabilitation services, protection, inclusive economic opportunities and livelihood, armed violence reduction, inclusive education and transversal topics such as inclusive humanitarian action.
Expanding operations to meet new needs
In addition to the countries where HI’s presence has been long-standing, such as Colombia, Cuba, and Bolivia, we are progressively expanding our operations to meet the needs arising from new conflicts and crises. This expansion demonstrates our adaptability and unwavering commitment to addressing emerging challenges.
We started working in Venezuela in 2018, but our operations have really increased since 2022, as we are now implementing projects in six different states. We have started cooperating with local partners and supporting grassroots civil society organizations, focusing particularly on health, protection, and food security topics—the latest being very specific to Venezuela.
In 2024, HI also started new operations in Quito, Ecuador, after a lengthy assessment of the needs in the country. We have started working with two local partners to implement an inclusive education project to ensure children with disabilities can access education. Our partners aim to broaden the children’s horizons and help them acquire knowledge and skills by thinking outside the box and exploring new fields such as arts, music, and our connection to nature.
“In the last decade, Ecuador has improved its overall macroeconomic standards. However, the level of violence has increased sharply. We have identified other humanitarian needs, such as protection issues, and are now preparing new operations to start working in other regions of the country.”
Promoting inclusion for everyone
HI also resumed operations in Honduras, where we worked in the early 2000s. There, we work with other NGOs to train them on inclusive humanitarian action, ensuring that they include communities often left behind in their operations, such as persons with disabilities, women, older adults, etc. This work covers three countries: Honduras, Guatemala, and Salvador.
In Honduras, HI also conducts protection activities based on empowerment and collaboration, via a process involving the participants' experiences and decisions to help them connect with the services they need. We are the first organization in Honduras carrying out protection case management with a disability, gender and age approach, to promote a people-centered approach and a human rights focus.
“Our goal is to bring the humanitarian action in these countries to new standards, for every person to be included in any humanitarian operations so that their needs are considered and covered. Inclusion is everyone’s concern, and we must collectively strive for a better future.”
1. Global Humanitarian Overview 2022
2. Global Humanitarian Overview 2024
