COOPI presence in Ecuador

In 1967 COOPI began operating in Ecuador, gaining a long and significant experience and knowledge of the country and its different territorial realities, adapting its actions over time to developments in the vulnerabilities of the most disadvantaged population, which have enabled it to become a reference point and a strategic partner for local authorities and the many civil society organizations with which it systematically collaborates in the implementation of projects.

Since the 1990s, the Organization has intervened with emergency projects in the area of risk reduction due to environmental disasters through assistance to communities affected by volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods, collaborating with institutions, research organizations, and civil society to strengthen local capacities to prepare for and respond to these types of events, as in the case of the devastating earthquake that struck communities in the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas in 2016.

In parallel, COOPI has developed programs to support Afro-Ecuadorian artisans and women; to which are added, since 2006, projects in the area of migration to support the integration of the Colombian migrant population in the northern border area.

COOPI in Ecuador today

In recent years, several Latin American and Caribbean countries where COOPI operates have been facing a humanitarian crisis that has generated more than 6 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants.

Ecuador-considered the third largest receiving country-has become one of the main destination countries for migratory flows from Venezuela: between 2015 and 2023, more than 500,000 Venezuelans decided to settle in Ecuador as refugees or migrants.

Beginning in 2020, as part of the regional response to the Venezuelan crisis, COOPI-along with its partners-is intervening in the country with a multisectoral and integral approach in areas such as habitability, in the provinces of El Oro and Guayas; protection of children and adolescents; and access to water and sanitation (WASH) in the provinces of El Oro, Manabí, Esmeraldas, Carchi, Imbabura, and Sucumbíos; livelihood generation and socio-economic integration in the provinces of El Oro, Guayas, Manabí, and Pichincha; promotion of popular and solidarity economy, in the provinces of El Oro, Loja, Carchi, and Sucumbíos; and prevention of gender-based violence across the various projects implemented.

COOPI-promoted interventions in the country benefit the population on the move and host communities, with a special focus on the most vulnerable, such as children, women, LGBTQI+ communities, refugees, and migrants.

In addition, COOPI is a member of the regional coordination platform R4V ("Plataforma Regional de Coordinación Interagencial para Refugiados y Migrantes") joined by more than 200 international NGOs in order to create an effective and coordinated network of response to the Venezuelan crisis.