Act for Peace's Partners Assist 150,000 People in Haiti
18/02/2010 1:08:27 PM
Nils Carstensen/ACT Alliance
Since the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, Act for Peace’s partners working on the ground have assisted more than 150,000 people. The majority of people are assisted with ongoing support such as water, sanitation, shelter or regular food supplies and hot meals. Other people have received relief items such as cash, family kits or hygiene sets. Others have benefitted from medical assistance and supplies to health clinics.
Our partners, working closely with numerous local church organisations, are assisting some of the most vulnerable among the victims of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince (including Bel Air and Cite Soleil), Gressier and in Jacmel and Bainet in the south.
The Network of Churches Have Saved Lives
Churches and other civil society networks in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic are working with our partners on both sides of the border. While difficult to quantify at this time, their efforts, particularly in places not reached by international humanitarian actors, are crucial for the survival and well-being for tens of thousands of earthquake survivors in the cities and not least in rural parts of Haiti, where more than 450,000 people have sought refuge. In these areas local community networks and self help groups are often the sole providers of assistance. Working with them made our partners able to directly care and support the survivors from the moment the earth quake hit Haiti.
200 People, One Toilet
Despite weeks of efforts by local and international humanitarian actors, the needs in the earthquake affected parts of Haiti continue to be enormous. Conditions for most of the estimated 1.2 million people living in improvised camps and shelters remain unbearably crammed and poor. UN OCHA has identified large gaps in provision of shelter and sanitation. Only 280,000 people have received some shelter material. That’s less than 25% of the target. Only 120,000 have received transitory shelter, much less than the 620,000 people who need it. Equally, only 3,000 latrines have been provided to people in temporary settlements, a far cry from the 18,000 toilets needed. Often 200 people have to share one toilet.
Those who fled
Very little is known about the conditions of the large group of people who have fled to the rural areas - only a general sense that food prices are increasing dramatically and that the hosting communities have great difficulties assisting the newcomers out of their own meagre resources. To make matters worse, nobody knows how long they have to live like this as rehabilitation of their homes and neighbourhoods appear to be a very long way off.
Within the next month, our partners will continue to increase the number of people benefitting with a continued focus on shelter, water, sanitation, psycho-social activities as well as food and non-food distributions.
