Key Points
Search and Rescue Operations
Many of our members were on the ground when the earthquake hit. Most became first responders in search and rescue operations. Many staff and family members were lost.
Emergency Food Assistance and Food Security
Members are implementing programs in areas where they were operating before the earthquake and have also expanded to the areas that were hardest hit by the disaster. While food is being distributed for immediate relief, members also have plans to help with longer-term food security over the coming months. Emergency food supplies, including high-protein and vitamin-fortified biscuits for children, emergency meals, and staples such as corn, rice, beans and crackers, have been provided for over 200,000 people, with further supplies for the next several months planned to go to a further two million.
Shelter
Members have provided shelter and supplies for over 40,700 people in at least 13 camps. Current aid consists mostly of shelter kits, tents, mattresses and blankets. Plans for future shelter projects to aid recovery include working with the local population to do needs assessments and reconstruction, rebuilding homes, and implementing a cash-for-work program for people to help clear debris, some of which could be recycled into new buildings.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
Members have delivered clean water in a number of ways. Over 120 different water distribution sites have been set up, helping 106,000 people. Nearly five million packs and tablets to counter dehydration have already been distributed, with another six million on the way. Water purification systems have been set up, and numerous latrines have been built. There are also plans to begin repairs on the city’s sanitation systems and the water infrastructure.
Logistics
Several member organizations are experts at providing logistics assistance during the aftermath of disasters across the globe. In the last two weeks, members have sent emergency first-response teams; collected and shipped tons of food, medical and shelter supplies, and are storing additional relief and supplies until shipment becomes available; coordinated transportation for shipments via ocean freight, cargo and personnel flights, and convoys from the Dominican Republic; established emergency operations communications centers on the ground; and established camps for internally displaced persons. Members are also collecting data and creating maps to facilitate the relief effort and are working through already-existing community-based networks to maximize their impact.
Emergency Relief Supplies
Most of our members are providing emergency relief supplies and services in some form throughout the country. Supplies include food, clothing, satellite phones for hospitals, debris removal tools, fuel and a diverse array of medical supplies. Services include emergency medical treatment, post-disaster psychological counseling, veterinary treatments for affected animals, micro credit operations, family linking services, creating child-safe spaces to protect vulnerable children from exploitation or abuse, transportation services out of Port-au-Prince and longer term recovery plans for reconstruction.
Health
The Government of Haiti Ministry of Health is helping to coordinate the medial relief effort and is shifting from focusing on emergency surgical cases to primary health care, health centers, and hospitals. There are 48 operational hospitals with surgical capacity in Port-au-Prince and 12 field hospitals. Additionally, several InterAction members have set up medical clinics, including some geared specifically to the needs of women and children. To communicate medicine availability, the Ministry of Health is broadcasting radio messages to reach relief agencies, hospitals, and clinics. Many of our members have deployed hundreds of medical personnel. They have also sent donations of vital medical supplies and equipment of all kinds, of a combined value over $11 million. Some of the personnel and supplies are geared to the immediate relief effort, like the emergency response teams and shipments of first aid supplies, blood transfusion supplies, and surgical supplies. Others are intended for longer term recovery, such as physical therapists for the wave of amputees, and education services to help reduce the second wave of casualties due to wounds and contamination.
Long-term development
Well after emergency responders have left, InterAction members will continue to provide assistance to Haiti long after the initial response. Various members already have plans to raise $71 million to invest in reconstruction. Those funds will go to rebuilding community centers, clinics, and schools; replanting crops and farms to reestablish the local food supply and provide sources of income; reconstructing larger sanitation systems and water infrastructure; rebuilding Haiti’s health care system; rebuilding destroyed homes; providing long-term mental health services to first-responders, affected communities and children; and cash-for-work programs that will pay survivors a daily wage to clear debris, restore buildings and repair basic infrastructure while allowing them to reinvest in their communities’ economies.
In-kind donations
One of the benefits of InterAction’s coalition is their ability to secure in-kind donations in humanitarian emergencies. Examples of post-earthquake corporate response include flights for cargo and personnel, water purification materials, medical supplies, satellite phones, shelter materials, generators, and light towers.