January 2010 Haiti eartHquake
April 12, 2010
tHree-MontH Progress rePort on tHe aMerican red cross resPonse
Signs of aid can be seen throughoutHaiti, three months after a devastating,magnitude 7 earthquake, but there isno question the needs remain great.Earthquake survivors will face additionalthreats with the arrival of the rainyseason this month and, later this summer,hurricane season.The Haiti earthquake is perhaps the mostchallenging disaster the internationalhumanitarian community has faced inmany decades, with 1.3 million peopleunable to return to their homes, aninfrastructure that has been destroyed,lack of available land for shelter and lossof livelihoods further complicating therecovery progress. Rebuilding Haiti is aresponsibility far greater than any singleorganization can manage alone, and itwill take years for this island nation torecover fully.The American Red Cross relief andrecovery plans are part of a broadercoordinated effort by other Red Crosssocieties from around the world as wellas hundreds of other international aidgroups and governments. Ultimately, ourHaiti Assistance Program,which is likely to be neededfor at least the next three
to ve years, will address
many complex issues facingHaitians as well as improvethe resiliency and capacityof their communities forthe future.While the crisis is far fromover, the Red Cross has
made signicant progress
in the past 90 days.Together, Red Cross andRed Crescent teams from40 nations, including theAmerican Red Cross, haveovercome many hurdles tomeet the emergency needsof approximately 2 millionespecially vulnerable people.
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In one of the fastest shelter-reliefoperations in recent years, theRed Cross and other humanitarianagencies had reached nearly 1.1 millionpeople—90 percent of the 1.3 millionhomeless—with emergency sheltersupplies as of April 5. Efforts are on track to provide emergency shelter suppliesto the remaining families in need byMay 1. The Red Cross alone had reached93 percent of its stated goal of providing400,000 people with tarps, tents and toolkits in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Carrefourand Jacmel—making the Red Cross thesingle largest contributor of emergencyshelter in Haiti.Like many others, the Red Cross wishesthat the pace of help could be faster, andwe have expressed deep concern aboutthe continuing dire and heartbreakingsituation in Haiti, especially with thethreat of a second humanitarian disasterlooming through the current rainy andAtlantic hurricane seasons.
P
rogress
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s
V
IsIble
Y
et
s
IgnIfIcant
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eed
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emaIns
facts at a glance
Since the earthquake struck three months ago, theglobal Red Cross network has:
Assisted
•
a total of 2 million people.Handed out tarps, tents and shelter kits to nearly
•
373,000 people.Provided relief items for 400,000 people.
•
Distributed 60 million liters of clean drinking water.
•
Built more than 1,300 latrines.
•
Treated more than 86,000 people at Red Cross
•
hospitals or mobile clinics.Helped vaccinate more than 152,000 people
•
against deadly diseases.Coordinated the shipment of more than 2,100
•
units of blood to medical facilities in Haiti.Registered more than 28,400 people on its
•
•
including 165 from the American Red Cross.
“You can see the progress that’s been made just by looking atpeople’s faces. Three months ago, fear, pain and shock werethe only expressions to be found. Today, you’ll see peoplewalking down the streets in Port-au-Prince with a sense ofpurpose, offering an occasional smile. The roads are cleared;
vendors line the sidewalks; and children are even found ying
kites made from bed sheets.”
—Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross,following her second visit to Haiti since the earthquake.
basic shelter needs but also speeds theemotional recovery of affected families.
d Pp
In addition to its efforts to provide shelter,the Red Cross is seeking to mitigate theimpact of heavy rains through disasterpreparedness activities. These efforts,
which will benet approximately 300,000
people living in 120 at-risk settlements,include:
• Establishing early warning systems,
including alerts and evacuation routes.
• Training community members in rst
aid as well as basic search and rescueskills.
• Pre-positioning medicine and relief
supplies for 125,000 people.
• Replacing latrines with elevated toilets.• Digging new drainage ditches and
cleaning out existing ones.In preparation for the hurricane season,the Red Cross is also designingtemporary community structures, wherefamilies can seek shelter in a storm. Atother times, the facilities can be usedas community centers or temporaryeducational sites. The Red Cross aimsto build 300 of these structures in safeareas in future settlements.
F, W oh rlf im
At the same time the Red Cross ispreparing for a potential second wave
January 2010 Haiti eartHquake
Recognizing that tarps and tents are notenough to protect against hurricanesand other severe weather, the Red Crossis working toward providing enclosed,transitional shelters for 250,000 peoplecurrently living in settlements at risk for
catastrophic ooding. These shelters
are safe and robust and can be movedor extended by families where spaceand resources allow. An initial shipmentof building supplies for 1,000 sheltershas already arrived in Haiti, and enoughmaterials for an additional 5,000 shelterswill be delivered in coming weeks. Together,
these rst batches of materials will house
up to 30,000 people once constructed.Recently, the Red Cross began trainingearthquake survivors, as well as volunteersfrom the Haitian National Red CrossSociety, as carpenters who will go on totrain hundreds of others. Using materialsdonated by the American Red Cross andits partners, teams in each settlement willconstruct their community's transitionalshelters, which will give the residents newskills in addition to full ownership of thestructure and supplies.But without access to land it will not bepossible to build transitional shelters norwill it be easy to evacuate those living inmakeshift settlements whose tarps and
tents may become ooded during heavy
rains. In most cases, we must wait for theHaitian authorities to identify, approve andprepare the land before construction canbegin. Despite this persistent challenge,the Red Cross has been successful insecuring two sites for shelters in CiteSoleil, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince.Soon, these sites will support 500 wood-framed shelters.Ultimately, the Red Cross plans to supportconstruction of 50,000 transitional sheltersin Leogane, Gressier and Jacmel asappropriate land there becomes available.The American Red Cross has contributed$43 million to the collective shelter effortand is exploring future opportunities tobuild permanent homes with earthquake-resistant construction techniques.In the meantime, to help families whosehomes were damaged but not destroyed,Red Cross teams continue to distributetools, timber and corrugated metal sheetsneeded to repair homes. Repairing theirhomes not only helps meet theirof disasters, distribution of essentialrelief items continues, with up to 5,000earthquake survivors receiving food,hygiene items and other supplies eachday. Teams from the American RedCross, Haitian National Red CrossSociety and eight other sister societieshave worked together to bring itemsincluding blankets, water containers,kitchen sets, mosquito nets, hygienekits, soap and detergent to 400,000people so far.Red Cross workers are also providing1.8 million liters of clean water eachday, totaling 60 million liters to date,to more than 118 locations throughoutPort-au-Prince, Leogane, Petit Goaveand Jacmel. This critical service reachesmore than 314,000 people each day.
Red Cross volunteers unload and distribute rice bags full of relief items for families now living insettlements near Centreville, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince.
D a n i e l C i m a / A m e r i c a n R e d C r o s s
2
The American Red Crosshas provided 43 percent ofthe items distributed by theglobal Red Cross network in Haiti.Watch a behind-the-scenes videoof the RedCross relief distributions
during the rst few weeks of
the disaster response.
and free text messages via mobile phonesthat advise survivors how to stay safe in
difcult living conditions. To date, outreach
teams have provided information on hand
washing, water purication and other
safe practices to 100,000 people in 40settlements throughout Port-au-Prince. Inpartnership with mobile telephone carriers,the Red Cross also sent millions of textmessages to hundreds of thousands of
people in difcult-to-reach areas.
An additional 152,000 adults and childrenhave been vaccinated against measles,diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus by theRed Cross and its partners since theearthquake.Red Cross sanitation teams have alsoconstructed more than 1,300 latrines in 87settlements, to serve 200,000 people inPort-au-Prince and Leogane. In addition,they have installed hand-washing facilitiesand showers as well as provided binsand equipment for trash collection in thesettlements.Since the earthquake, no major outbreaksof disease have been reported in Haiti inlarge part due to these types of preventionand education activities. Red Crosshealth teams, however, expect outbreaksof diseases like malaria, which typicallyoccur in Haiti during the hurricane season,will present greater challenges post-disaster. They are, therefore, preparing for
January 2010 Haiti eartHquake
Hlh s
As many medical organizations wind downtheir operations in Haiti, local hospitals andclinics increasingly rely on the Red Crossfor support. Each day, teams of doctors andnurses from Red Cross societies aroundthe world treat up to 2,000 patients attheir temporary facilities in Port-au-Prince,Leogane, Carrefour and Jacmel. To date,more than 86,000 people have been treatedby the Red Cross. View ourinteractive map identifying communities where the RedCross is currently working, including thelocations of its hospitals and mobile clinics.
Red Cross teams are also nding innovative
ways to communicate health and hygieneinformation, including through street theatera potential increased need for medicalcare and disease control in the monthsahead.The American Red Cross has alsocoordinated the shipment of more than2,100 units of blood to Haiti to treat theill and injured.
3
I
nVestIng
In
l
IVelIhoods
To complement ongoing aiddistributions in Port-au-Princeand reach additional families inneed, the American Red Cross
is providing nancial assistance
through a partnership withFonkoze, Haiti’s largest
micronance institution. This
collaboration will help an initial16,000 families purchase and replace essential items. Amongthis group are 10,000 women who have lost their homes,businesses or both.Mothers like Docina Marie-Laurent, pictured above, havereceived small grants to help meet their families’ immediateneeds as well as a small loan to restart their businesses.Marie-Laurent, a widow with four children, lives several hourswest of the Haitian capital in the rural community of PetitGoave. She makes the trip between her home and Port-au-Prince several times each week to sell fuel and vegetables atthe market. Her entrepreneurial spirit provides for her children,who now live with her in a small tent near the damaged housethey once rented.“The loan will help a lot because I need more money to investin my business. It will help me to move forward,” she said ingratitude to the American Red Cross.In addition to restoring these families’ source of income, 6,000host families in rural communities will receive grants to help
them care for loved ones who ed the disaster zone and are
now living with relatives.
“The misery and the risks
they face are very difcult
to describe. But doing thiswork, I realize that the smilewe provoke can be, in spite ofeverything, an opportunity. Weare bringing them hope; they aregiving us hope.”
—Farah Suzi Charles, Haitian National Red Cross Society volunteer
Red Cross volunteers share health and hygienemessages with young earthquake survivors inCarrefour.
B o n n i e G i l l e s p i e / A m e r i c a n R e d C r o s s
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Haiti Earthquake: Three Month Report
The American Red Cross three-month progress report on relief efforts in Haiti.
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