ReliefWeb

Revised Appeal target (current) and coverage: 13,371,804 Swiss francs; the revised budget coverage stands at 95%.

Appeal history:

Ÿ Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): 78,853 Swiss francs were allocated for preparedness activities in the Dominican Republic related to the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Ÿ A Preliminary Appeal was launched on 3 November 2010 for 5,946,897 Swiss francs to support the Haitian Red Cross and the Dominican Red Cross to assist 345,000 beneficiaries.

Ÿ An Emergency Appeal was launched on 23 December 2010 for 13,741,932 Swiss francs – including Emergency Response Units (ERUs) – to assist 500,000 people in Haiti for up to a year and 150,000 people in the Dominican Republic for up to 6 months.

Ÿ The need to support the Haitian Red Cross and the Dominican Red Cross to respond to seasonal increases in cholera cases, this Revised Appeal extends the operation timeframe until the end of February 2012 to assist 500,000 people in Haiti and 150,000 people in the Dominican Republic. The budget has been revised from 13,741,932 Swiss francs (including ERUs) to 13,371,804 Swiss francs in line with available funding. A Final Report will be made available by the end of May 2012 (three months after the end of the operation).

Summary:

In Haiti, since the beginning of the outbreak the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has been mobilizing all available resources to address the emergency. The Haitian Red Cross with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Partner National Societies (PNS) in the country continue to reach the affected and vulnerable with cholera prevention and control activities including: managing Cholera Treatment Centres (CTC), Cholera Treatment Units (CTU), maintaining Oral Rehydration Sachet (ORS) points, hygiene promotion, disinfections and distribution of cholera prevention and treatment materials. Water supply and sanitation interventions will be now reflected within the Haiti Earthquake appeal.

Most of the outputs in the original plan of action have been achieved; due to this objectives were modified at the six month point to meet the response demands to the current endemic nature of cholera in Haiti (see Cholera six-month report for more information). The importance of ensuring communities have improved resilience against cholera is paramount, particularly as humanitarian cholera programmes are largely scaling down. The recent increase in cholera cases demonstrates the importance of preparing communities for repeated outbreaks linked to the rainy season cycles. To this end the next six-months of the programme focuses on the pillars of preventive health and hygiene promotion, curative health facilities, communications and contingency planning. These objectives continue to be in accordance with the Haitian Red Cross Cholera Response Plan of Action.

To achieve these objectives and fully support the Haitian Red Cross in developing its capacity to respond to cholera outbreaks throughout the rainy season, the Appeal has been extended to February 2012. This will provide the necessary time to embed the cholera response operational capacity fully within the Emergency Health department of the Haitian Red Cross. Over the period the IFRC Cholera department will gradually hand over responsibilities and capacity to the Haitian Red Cross Health department in order to reinforce its emergency operations.

Furthermore, in Haiti this Appeal is being carried out in parallel to the IFRC Earthquake Appeal that was launched in January 2010. The programmes of both appeals are mutually reinforcing each other with complimentary activities, notably across the IFRC Cholera, Health, Water and Sanitation, Communications and Logistics departments. They also seek to deliver material, logistical and technical support to the Haitian Red Cross’ auxiliary role to the Haitian government.

In the Dominican Republic, latest figures provided by health authorities to the Humanitarian Working Group on 12 July 2010 reported 11,167 cases and 74 deaths were due to cholera. This is an increase in regards to the Epidemiological Bulletin for week no. 26, which showed 10,760 reported cases and 71 deaths. The Ministry of Health and partners from the Humanitarian Working Group are coordinating the increase of activities required to treat patients and prevent the further spread of the disease.

In the country, the Dominican Red Cross mitigates the impact of cholera through trainings in the border provinces and vulnerable communities in urban areas. The National Societies’ preparedness and response activities have reached 50,218 people, including the Haitian population displaced by the 12 January earthquake. The timeframe of the operation has been extended as well in the Dominican Republic to carry out preventive health and hygiene promotion activities, addressing the needs of vulnerable families due to the deterioration of sanitary conditions during the rainy season. The budget of the operation has been modified accordingly. The activities planned for the following months include continued sensitization, water supply and distribution of chlorine for purifying water and ORS sachets for early home treatment.

Progress towards the outcomes of this Appeal covers from 1 May 2011 to 30 June 2011 in Haiti and up to 8 July 2011 in the Dominican Republic. To see progress and achievements during the first six months of the operation, click here.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Haiti:

· Dr Michaèle Amédée Gédéon, President, Haitian Red Cross; phone: +509.3492.5492; email: m.amedee-gedeon@croixrouge.ht

· Guiteau Jean-Pierre, Executive Director, Haitian Red Cross; phone: +509.3723.3267 / 3416.0969; email: guiteau2001@yahoo.com

· Eduard Tschan, Country Representative for Haiti; email: eduard.tschan@ifrc.org

In the Dominican Republic:

· Gustavo Lara, General Director, Dominican Red Cross; phone: +1.809.6291.673; email: ejecutivo1crd@gmail.com

· Alexandre Claudon, Regional Representative for the Latin Caribbean; phone: +1.809.334.4545; email: alexandre.claudon@ifrc.org

· Javier Ormeño, IFRC Project Coordinator; email: javier.ormeno@ifrc.org

In Panama:

· Jorge Zequeira, PADRU Coordinator; phone: +507.6675.0290; email: jorge.zequeira@ifrc.org

· Lorenzo Violante, Acting Haiti Support Team Coordinator; phone: +507.317.3050; cell phone: +507. 6550.5287; email: lorenzo.violante@ifrc.org

· Marta Trayner; Emergency Health Coordinator; phone: +507.317.3050; cellphone: +507.6550.1090; email: marta.trayner@ifrc.org

· Henrik Ortved, Logistics Mobilization Coordinator for Haiti, PADRU; phone +507.316.1001; email: henrik.ortved@ifrc.org

· Sandra Lombardo; Resource Mobilization Senior Officer; phone: +507.317.3050; email: sandra.lombardo@ifrc.org

In Geneva: Pablo Medina, Operations Quality Assurance Senior Officer; phone: +41.22.730.4381; email: pablo.medina@ifrc.org