Haiti - Storms Fact Sheet #3, Fiscal Year (FY) 2009

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last fact sheet was dated October 10, 2008.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

On October 13, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) met with staff from the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a representative from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and a member of the Government of Haiti (GOH) Ministry of Public Works, Transportation, and Communications (MTPTC) to discuss roles and responsibilities for the reconstruction of the Ennery Bridge in Artibonite Department.

To date, MINUSTAH's Brazilian Engineering Company has conducted a survey of the area surrounding the Ennery Bridge and will work with the MTPTC to confirm a staging area for supplies. Upon approval of the design and cost estimates, USAID/OFDA, in coordination with USAID/Haiti, plans to provide funds for the purchase of tools, supplies, and equipment needed for bridge construction.

On October 21, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that IOM's USAID/Haiti-funded Program of Revitalization and Promotion of Mutual Understanding and Peace and the GOH restored the water system in Gonaïves, Artibonite Department, and began distributing water to 50,000 residents.

In support of relief activities in Gonaïves, USAID/OFDA is donating three large tents and office supplies to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Haiti, valued at more than $40,000. These tents serve as meeting facilities for relief agencies and will help ensure the continuation of humanitarian coordination in Haiti following the emergency phase.

FY 2008 AND FY 2009 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING TO DATE FOR HAITI HURRICANES IN 2008

USAID/OFDA Assistance(2): $10,051,124
USAID/FFP(3) Assistance(4): $14,000,000
USAID/Haiti Assistance: $5,000,000
DOD(5) Assistance: $2,631,877
DHS(6) Assistance(7) : Amount Forthcoming Total
USG Humanitarian Assistance to Haiti for Hurricanes in Calendar Year 2008 :$31,683,001

CURRENT SITUATION

- Recent data from the GOH Office of Civil Protection indicates that approximately 34 percent of the storm-related damage in Haiti occurred in Artibonite Department. According to OCHA, Artibonite has received more than 62 percent of the total emergency relief commodity distributions in Haiti to date. However, OCHA reports that shelter materials have yet to reach all affected populations in the department, noting that rural areas within Artibonite account for only 15 percent of relief commodity distributions.

- On October 14, OCHA reported that the U.N. Development Program has hired a waste management expert to evaluate the waste and mud disposal process in Gonaïves, Artibonite Department, and make appropriate recommendations for future work. To date, partners undertaking cleanup activities are challenged by the need to balance mud removal with regular street cleaning and waste removal.

- The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) reported that school feeding activities resumed during the week of October 12 throughout the country, except in Gonaïves. Flooding and damage caused by recent storms and hurricanes delayed the school year by more than a month. Schools are also being used as temporary shelters, causing further delays.

- OCHA has reported that the process of removing IDPs from schools being used as shelters is ongoing in Gonaïves. According to OCHA, at least six shelters were closed during the week of October 12.