GLIDE No. TC-2008-000147
Period covered by this Operations Update: 25 September to 15 October 2008.
Appeal target (current): CHF 8,360,877 (USD 7,600,810 or EUR 5,177,020) in cash, kind, or services to support the Haitian National Red Cross Society to assist 10,000 families (50,000 beneficiaries) for 9 months.
Appeal coverage: 63%.
Additional funds are expected to be registered in coming days, which will increase coverage to around 92%. A revised appeal will be published within the next two weeks reflecting the updated donor response.
Appeal history:
- A Preliminary Emergency Appeal for CHF 3,812,770 (USD 3,466,154 or EUR 2,360,848) was launched on 5 September 2008 to support the Haitian National Red Cross Society to assist 10,000 families (50,000 beneficiaries) for six months.
- The Preliminary Appeal was revised on 25 September to CHF 8,360,877 (USD 7,600,810 or EUR 5,177,020) for nine months. The operation is thus expected to be completed by 5th June 2009.
- Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 300,000 (USD 272,727 or EUR 186,335) was initially allocated from the Federation's DREF to support the National Society to respond.
Summary: Since 26 August 2008 Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike have left hundreds of people dead and tens of thousands homeless in Haiti. The hardest hit regions of the country were the departments of Sud, Sud-Est, Artibonite and the northern coast. These regions were cut off from the centre due to damaged roads and infrastructure. Emergency relief efforts by the Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS) with the support of the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) and the Regional Representation for Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic began immediately despite the challenges of access to remote areas. Preparedness activities and pre-positioning of emergency relief items were undertaken. Following the initial assessment by a nine-member Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT), a joint FACT - Emergency Response Unit (ERU) mission was undertaken in the country starting 2 September to assist and support the HNRCS in its ongoing emergency relief efforts. These efforts focused on addressing the needs of the most affected people and were coordinated with Partner National Societies (PNS) present in the country. The FACT-ERU support covers basic health care, relief shelter, early recovery, water and sanitation, logistics, IT telecom, including emergency preparedness, monitoring and reporting and capacity building in partnership with PNS and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) present in the country.
This Operations Update focuses on the progress achieved in accordance with the objectives described in the appeal. Objectives for distribution of non-food relief items (NFI) have passed the 75 percent mark with an increasing speed of delivery. In light of this, relief and logistics teams are preparing to transition to support emergency and transitional shelter objectives. Currently, the most important needs are water and sanitation, basic health care as well as shelter and early recovery activities. One of the International Federation's basic health care-ERU teams has set-up a mobile clinic in Gonaives, the hardest hit area, and has begun providing out-patient health services to a growing number of people.
This operation is expected to be implemented over a period of nine months, and will therefore be completed by 5 June 2009; a final report will be made available by 5 September 2009 (three months after the end of the operation.)