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Concern nutritionist Bernie Feeney is the supervisor of Concern’s nutrition unit in Port-au-Prince. Here she talks with staff nurse Madame Pierre, who has received extensive training in the treatment of malnutrition from Concern. |
Haiti’s most powerful earthquake in 200 years hit 10 miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince on January 12, killing an estimated 200,000 people and affecting over 3.5 million, according to the United Nations.
CONCERN’S IMMEDIATE RESPONSE
Active in Haiti since 1994, Concern had already been working in Port-au-Prince before the earthquake, allowing us to quickly reach those in need. Within 24 hours of the disaster, Concern’s team in Port-au-Prince responded, delivering water and aid to slum communities. Concern chartered three relief flights to bring in urgently-needed supplies to earthquake survivors, including:
- 47,000 blankets
- 2,300 family tents
- 10,000 mosquito nets
- 15,000 kitchen sets
- 5,000 hygiene kits
- 1,160,000 square feet of plastic sheeting
CONCERN’S LONG-TERM RESPONSE
Although media attention has shifted away from Haiti over the past few months, the emergency is far from over. With an estimated 250,000 homes damaged or destroyed in the earthquake, many families are still living in overcrowded, makeshift camps without adequate shelter or sanitation. A recent screening of children under five carried out by Concern showed an increase in malnutrition rates. An estimated 90 percent of school buildings were destroyed, leaving 2.5 million children without access to education.
Now in the post-emergency phase of our response, Concern is reaching more than 109,087 people in three areas of Haiti: Port-au-Prince, the island of La Gonâve, and the rural area of Saut d’Eau.
With 400 staff members on the ground, Concern is currently:
- Managing 13 camps for displaced people with a combined population of 58,000
- Supplying 64 truck deliveries of clean drinking water every day to 58,350 people, and improving access to sanitation
- Distributing essential relief items (tarps, kitchen sets, mosquito nets & soap) to 96,000 people to date
- Screening and treating malnourished children in Concern’s nine outpatient therapeutic centers, and providing 12 “baby tents,”where mothers with very young children can get advice, privacy and support to continue breastfeeding
- Organizing cash-for-work programs, giving 17,500 people the chance to earn a decent living by clearing rubble and doing basic construction work, and running a cash transfer program which has benefited 35,000 people (mostly women)
- Running three “Child Friendly Spaces,” providing almost 6,500 of the most vulnerable, quake-affected children with a safe place to play and learn
Concern is deeply committed to providing effective aid, and we are coordinating our activities with other agencies on the ground through the UN “cluster” system, a partnership between UN agencies, international organizations, the Government of Haiti and local organizations.
UPHILL BATTLE: HUGE NEEDS REMAIN
Concern designed and is managing a site at Tabarre Issa for families who relocated from areas where they were at high risk from dangers posed by heavy rains and hurricane season. Tabarre Issa site is a lifeline for people like Marie Colas, a mother of two who lost her husband and family home in the earthquake. “In this new home, our lives can begin again,” Marie told Concern staff when the family moved into the Tabarre Issa camp, which offers water, sanitation, education, health services, cash-for-work programs, and durable, transitional homes to 2,500 people.
Rebuilding Port-au-Prince and other earthquake-affected areas will take up to ten years and the principal responsibility for this will lie with the Haitian government. "There is a role for the international community to support the Haitian people, but those in charge must be the Haitians,” says Concern US Chief Executive Officer Tom Arnold, “The courage, dignity, survival and resilience of the Haitian people over the past six months have been astounding. In the most appalling circumstances, they have proven to be the real ‘Humanitarians of Haiti’, the first to help others, to take people in and, despite immense devastation and suffering, are now working to re-establish their lives against all the odds."
Concern is in Haiti for the long term, and we are committed to helping earthquake survivors restore and rebuild their communities. “With the attention that is given to Haiti now, there might be a chance to improve the situation that we had in Haiti before the earthquake,” says Country Director Elke Leidel, “But it will certainly take years to recover from it and to build a better future for Haitians.”
Haiti at a Glance
Area: 28,000 sq km
Population: 9.7 m
GDP per Capita: US $1,155
Infant Mortality (per thousand births): 59
Life Expectancy: 61
Living with HIV and AIDS: 120,000
Literacy Rate: 62.1%
Access to safe water: 64%
Human Development Rank: 149 (out of 182)
Global Hunger Rank/Index*: 76 / 28.2