United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners are strengthening their presence in areas affected by the earthquake. María José Torres Macho, the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia, said on August 12 that specialist teams had deployed in Chocó, Valle del Cauca and the Coffee Region.
About 56 organisations on the ground
In an interview published by Caracol Radio at 8:59:56 a.m., María José Torres Macho estimated that about 56 United Nations and humanitarian organisations were already working on the ground. She placed them within local coordination teams alongside authorities and communities.
The number is an estimate attributed to the Resident Coordinator. It provides neither a personnel count, a department-by-department breakdown nor an independent measure of coverage achieved.
Three regions and several immediate needs
The deployments cited cover Chocó, Valle del Cauca and the Coffee Region. Priorities include temporary shelter, water and sanitation, health, mental health, food security and protection.
The coordinator also mentioned children and adolescents whose schools have been affected. The UN statement published the previous day likewise lists shelter, safe water, food and health among the central needs.
Activation requested by Colombia
The United Nations in Colombia says it received a request to activate its support mechanisms. The UN system and Humanitarian Country Team say they aligned their capacities with assessments made during the first twenty-four hours.
María José Torres Macho describes coordination with the Foreign Ministry and UNGRD as smooth. That assessment concerns institutional exchanges; it does not establish that every material need is already covered.
Reaching hard-to-access areas
The UN statement mentions a presence in affected territories and the aim of reaching areas that remain difficult to access. Neither source publishes a detailed distribution of teams or deliveries.
The next useful figures will be the municipalities actually reached, volumes distributed and needs still unmet, using comparable times and scopes.
What remains to be watched
Deployment is a response capacity, not proof that every community has already received aid. Results will need to be tracked separately for water, shelter, health, food, protection and schooling continuity.
The latest harmonised national toll remains UNGRD’s 7:20 p.m. August 11 update: 181 deaths, 2,774 injured and 320 people rescued. The number of humanitarian organisations does not change that toll.