*This report contains observations made approximately six months following the earthquake of January 12, 2010.

The United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) task is to help Haiti rebuild into a more resilient country. Indeed,

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 was the biggest urban disaster in modern history. An estimated 230,000 people were killed and more than 1.5 million left homeless as the capital Port-au-Prince collapsed.

As we mark the one year anniversary, the scale of the devastation witnessed in Haiti must be an urgent wake up call for the world.

Merlin is calling for support to national health workers to ensure fragile countries can respond to the growing threat of disasters. We are also demanding more effective humanitarian responses

Following the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake, Haiti's government, supported by the World Bank, led an ambitious Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)-an operative blueprint for reconstruction. Astonishingly, the PDNA failed to address gender issues. This Gender Shadow report (GSR) provides the missing gender content for PDNA policymakers, donors, civil society groups and all stakeholders involved in Haiti's reconstruction. It follows a parallel outline to the PDNA by presenting issues related to governance and accountability, environment

The crisis and the response

- The US military's post-earthquake management of entry to Haiti prioritised US flights and expensive search and rescue missions and delayed the response of experienced actors.

- An influx of small, often in-experienced, INGOs reduced the quality of the humanitarian response.

- It has proven uniquely challenging to determine the number of humanitarian actors, the total level of funding and to prepare accurate 3W (who does what, where) information.

- OCHA's ability to undertake basic post-emergency

This DRM Country Note updates the April 2009 version. The Note was prepared following consultations with members of the World Bank’s Haiti DRM Country team and the task team leaders overseeing projects in Haiti. The programmatic DRM approach proposed within this document has been presented to the World Bank’s development partners. Following discussion with the Government of Haiti, a workshop was organized in mid September 2010 to further discuss the strategic vision of the National Disaster Risk Management System and the subsequent program to support the realization of this vision.