Three-Month Progress Report on the American Red Cross Response April 12, 2010
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JANUARY 2010 HAITI EARTHQUAKE THREE-MONTH PROGRESS REPORT ON THE AMERICAN RED CROSS RESPONSE April 12, 2010 PROGRESS IS VISIBLE YET SIGNIFICANT NEED REMA I NS Signs of aid can be seen throughout Haiti Assistance Program, FACTS AT A GLANCE Haiti, three months after a devastating, which is likely to be needed Since the earthquake struck three months ago, the magnitude 7 earthquake, but there is for at least the next three global Red Cross network has: no question the needs remain great. to five years, will address Earthquake survivors will face additional many complex issues facing • Assisted a total of 2 million people. threats with the arrival of the rainy Haitians as well as improve • Handed out tarps, tents and shelter kits to nearly season this month and, later this summer, the resiliency and capacity 373,000 people. hurricane season. of their communities for • Provided relief items for 400,000 people. the future. The Haiti earthquake is perhaps the most • Distributed 60 million liters of clean drinking water. challenging disaster the international While the crisis is far from • Built more than 1,300 latrines. humanitarian community has faced in over, the Red Cross has • Treated more than 86,000 people at Red Cross many decades, with 1.3 million people made significant progress hospitals or mobile clinics. unable to return to their homes, an in the past 90 days. infrastructure that has been destroyed, Together, Red Cross and • Helped vaccinate more than 152,000 people against deadly diseases. lack of available land for shelter and loss Red Crescent teams from of livelihoods further complicating the 40 nations, including the • Coordinated the shipment of more than 2,100 recovery progress. Rebuilding Haiti is a American Red Cross, have units of blood to medical facilities in Haiti. responsibility far greater than any single overcome many hurdles to • Registered more than 28,400 people on its organization can manage alone, and it meet the emergency needs family linking Web site. will take years for this island nation to of approximately 2 million • Deployed more than 900 responders to Haiti, recover fully. especially vulnerable people. including 165 from the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross relief and Shelter recovery plans are part of a broader In one of the fastest shelter-relief homeless—with emergency shelter coordinated effort by other Red Cross operations in recent years, the supplies as of April 5. Efforts are on track societies from around the world as well Red Cross and other humanitarian to provide emergency shelter supplies as hundreds of other international aid agencies had reached nearly 1.1 million to the remaining families in need by groups and governments. Ultimately, our people—90 percent of the 1.3 million May 1. The Red Cross alone had reached 93 percent of its stated goal of providing 400,000 people with tarps, tents and tool “You can see the progress that’s been made just by looking at kits in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Carrefour people’s faces. Three months ago, fear, pain and shock were and Jacmel—making the Red Cross the single largest contributor of emergency the only expressions to be found. Today, you’ll see people shelter in Haiti. walking down the streets in Port-au-Prince with a sense of Like many others, the Red Cross wishes that the pace of help could be faster, and purpose, offering an occasional smile. The roads are cleared; we have expressed deep concern about vendors line the sidewalks; and children are even found flying the continuing dire and heartbreaking situation in Haiti, especially with the kites made from bed sheets.” threat of a second humanitarian disaster — Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, looming through the current rainy and following her second visit to Haiti since the earthquake. Atlantic hurricane seasons. JANUARY 2010 HAITI EARTHQUAKE 2 Recognizing that tarps and tents are not basic shelter needs but also speeds the of disasters, distribution of essential enough to protect against hurricanes emotional recovery of affected families. relief items continues, with up to 5,000 and other severe weather, the Red Cross earthquake survivors receiving food, is working toward providing enclosed, Disaster Preparedness hygiene items and other supplies each transitional shelters for 250,000 people In addition to its efforts to provide shelter, day. Teams from the American Red currently living in settlements at risk for the Red Cross is seeking to mitigate the Cross, Haitian National Red Cross catastrophic flooding. These shelters impact of heavy rains through disaster Society and eight other sister societies are safe and robust and can be moved preparedness activities. These efforts, have worked together to bring items or extended by families where space which will benefit approximately 300,000 including blankets, water containers, and resources allow. An initial shipment people living in 120 at-risk settlements, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, hygiene of building supplies for 1,000 shelters include: kits, soap and detergent to 400,000 has already arrived in Haiti, and enough • Establishing early warning systems, people so far. materials for an additional 5,000 shelters including alerts and evacuation routes. Red Cross workers are also providing will be delivered in coming weeks. Together, • Training community members in first 1.8 million liters of clean water each these first batches of materials will house aid as well as basic search and rescue day, totaling 60 million liters to date, up to 30,000 people once constructed. skills. to more than 118 locations throughout Recently, the Red Cross began training • Pre-positioning medicine and relief Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Petit Goave earthquake survivors, as well as volunteers supplies for 125,000 people. and Jacmel. This critical service reaches from the Haitian National Red Cross more than 314,000 people each day. Society, as carpenters who will go on to • Replacing latrines with elevated toilets. train hundreds of others. Using materials • Digging new drainage ditches and donated by the American Red Cross and cleaning out existing ones. The American Red Cross its partners, teams in each settlement will In preparation for the hurricane season, has provided 43 percent of construct their community's transitional the Red Cross is also designing the items distributed by the shelters, which will give the residents new temporary community structures, where skills in addition to full ownership of the families can seek shelter in a storm. At global Red Cross network structure and supplies. other times, the facilities can be used But without access to land it will not be as community centers or temporary in Haiti. Watch a behind- possible to build transitional shelters nor educational sites. The Red Cross aims the-scenes video of the Red will it be easy to evacuate those living in to build 300 of these structures in safe makeshift settlements whose tarps and areas in future settlements. Cross relief distributions tents may become flooded during heavy during the first few weeks of rains. In most cases, we must wait for the Food, Water and Other Relief Items Haitian authorities to identify, approve and At the same time the Red Cross is the disaster response. prepare the land before construction can preparing for a potential second wave begin. Despite this persistent challenge, the Red Cross has been successful in securing two sites for shelters in Cite Soleil, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. Soon, these sites will support 500 wood- framed shelters. Ultimately, the Red Cross plans to support construction of 50,000 transitional shelters in Leogane, Gressier and Jacmel as appropriate land there becomes available. The American Red Cross has contributed $43 million to the collective shelter effort and is exploring future opportunities to build permanent homes with earthquake- resistant construction techniques. In the meantime, to help families whose homes were damaged but not destroyed, Red Cross teams continue to distribute tools, timber and corrugated metal sheets needed to repair homes. Repairing their Daniel Cima/American Red Cross homes not only helps meet their Red Cross volunteers unload and distribute rice bags full of relief items for families now living in settlements near Centreville, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. JANUARY 2010 HAITI EARTHQUAKE 3 IN V EST I NG IN Liv EL I HOODS To complement ongoing aid Marie-Laurent, a widow with four children, lives several hours distributions in Port-au-Prince west of the Haitian capital in the rural community of Petit and reach additional families in Goave. She makes the trip between her home and Port-au- need, the American Red Cross Prince several times each week to sell fuel and vegetables at is providing financial assistance the market. Her entrepreneurial spirit provides for her children, through a partnership with who now live with her in a small tent near the damaged house Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest they once rented. microfinance institution. This “The loan will help a lot because I need more money to invest collaboration will help an initial in my business. It will help me to move forward,” she said in 16,000 families purchase and replace essential items. Among gratitude to the American Red Cross. this group are 10,000 women who have lost their homes, In addition to restoring these families’ source of income, 6,000 businesses or both. host families in rural communities will receive grants to help Mothers like Docina Marie-Laurent, pictured above, have them care for loved ones who fled the disaster zone and are received small grants to help meet their families’ immediate now living with relatives. needs as well as a small loan to restart their businesses. Health and Sanitation As many medical organizations wind down and free text messages via mobile phones a potential increased need for medical their operations in Haiti, local hospitals and that advise survivors how to stay safe in care and disease control in the months clinics increasingly rely on the Red Cross difficult living conditions.