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Haiti

Haiti: Earthquake (MDRHT008) -- Operations Update no. 26

Attachments

Period covered by this Progress Report: 1 February 2011 to 31 March 2011

Appeal target (current): 314,329,971 Swiss francs in cash, kind, or services are required to support the plan of action of the Haitian Red Cross (HRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to provide basic non-food items and emergency/transitional shelter to 80,000 beneficiary families and provide emergency health care, fulfilment of basic needs in water and sanitation and livelihoods support for vulnerable populations in the earthquake-affected region.

Appeal coverage: coverage currently stands at approximately 81 per cent. The 2,560,967 Swiss francs requested to support the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society’s inter-agency coordination of the Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster has been covered by different donors.

Summary: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January 2010, affecting 3 million people. The earthquake directly affected Port-au-Prince, Léogane, Petit and Grand Goâve and Jacmel, causing over 222,570 deaths and 300,572 injuries. Widespread destruction in Port-au-Prince left over 1.5 million people homeless, and in Léogane and Gressier 70 per cent of homes were destroyed or damaged. Many of those people whose houses were totally destroyed resettled in over 1,354 spontaneous settlement sites across the earthquake-affected area while 661,000 people fled the capital for the regions. According to the Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster, at present, an estimated 680,494 persons are living in 1,061 IDP camps in Haiti. The earthquake compounded pre-existing structural problems, severe poverty and low development, as well as very limited access to education, health and sanitation services. Between 10 million and 11 million cubic metres of rubble remain around the country complicating shelter initiatives. As more than two thirds of the population do not have formal jobs, support for livelihoods is essential following the earthquake.

The IFRC Earthquake response programme has made significant progress to date. At the end of March 2011, the relief teams had distributed 376,381 tarpaulins, 264,087 blankets, 407,361 hygiene kits and 140,074 mosquito nets. The transitional shelter programme has been moving forward with the completion of 1,562 shelters by the end of March 2011. In the health sector, more than 150,000 people have been reached by the community based health services and the health unit has been particularly involved in the cholera operation during this month. 108,455 people are being reached with daily water distribution at the end of March 2011 and 630,285 cubic metres water have been delivered.

The Disaster Preparedness/Disaster Risk Reduction programme has strengthened the capacity of all 13 Haitian Red Cross Branches to respond to disasters and pre-positioned stocks are now available in Haiti in order to serve 25,000 households in case of any emergency. Since the beginning of the operation, the beneficiary communication unit has delivered 33.5 million messages and reached 1.2 million Haitians through SMSs. 30 hours of radio shows have also been broadcasted during the past year.