Haiti earthquake: help still needed

Ten days after a devastating earthquake struck the western hemisphere’s poorest nation, millions of Haitians remain homeless, thirsty and hungry. Thousands still require medical attention.

To date the DEC appeal for emergency funding has raised £38 million – helping the 13 member agencies, such as Oxfam, to provide emergency relief to some of the estimated 2.2 million people affected by this disaster.

Oxfam is itself providing aid relief for up to 12,000 people everyday, with a further 50 tonnes of water and sanitation equipment, plastic sheeting for shelter, and body bags, due to arrive in Port au Prince on Friday 22 January. Oxfam has begun work in seven camps, targeting 92,000 people, to provide basic latrines, sanitation and water.

However, with some 90 percent of buildings destroyed at the earthquake’s epicentre near Leogane, and destruction of 70 percent in some parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, there is a huge long-term need to rebuild the country. Even before the earthquake, eight million Haitians were living in poverty. Hundreds of hospitals, schools and roads will now need rebuilding.

That is why we still need help – and will do for a long time to come. Our most urgent need is for money, but there are other ways you can help too. For the long-term benefit of Haiti, we need to lobby the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make sure the country’s debt is cancelled once and for all.

Haiti currently owes over $891 million in debt: if this isn’t cancelled, Haiti will be sending tens of millions to the IMF and other international bodies even as it struggles to rescue and rebuild.

A meeting on Monday in Montreal could decide Haiti’s fate – at present, the IMF is only offering an additional loan of $100m, which rather than aid the country’s rebuilding, would further hinder its progress, as its debt would increase.

You can help with this by emailing the head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn to demand that the IMF cancels Haiti’s debt immediately to make sure that earthquake relief doesn't create a new debt burden. Please visit:  http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/actions/haiti_drop_the_debt.html

And if you can donate to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal, please visit www.dec.org.uk, call 0370 60 60 900 or go to any Oxfam shop. Collections for the DEC appeal are also taking place in London at the ticket hall of Bank Station on Friday 22nd, and at Victoria Station on Thursday 28th.

The impact of the earthquake on Oxfam’s Haitian and international staff, the logistical challenges combined with a destroyed office and warehouse and the loss of communications have made this the one of the hardest responses the agency has ever mounted.

Oxfam lost two employees and most staff have endured harrowing personal losses as a result of the quake. Many had their homes damaged or destroyed and are sleeping outside like the rest of the Haitian population.

Part of the Oxfam office and a key warehouse full of £75,000 worth of vital water and sanitation equipment were destroyed when the quake struck.

Caroline Gluck has been reporting for Oxfam from Haiti. She says:

“Haiti was already one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere before this disaster struck, with 85 percent of its inhabitants living on less than two dollars a day. On a good afternoon, it wasn’t easy to move about in Port-au-Prince, its tight, twisty, rutted roads and tracks difficult to navigate.

“This disaster comes just 16 months after four hurricanes killed 1,000 people, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and causing an estimated $1 billion dollars of damage to infrastructure and agriculture. This country and its people aren’t fit for this.

“Our 100-strong squad in Haiti is experienced in dealing with emergency situations and they dealt with the fall-out after the recent hurricanes. But they too are struggling to cope with the loss of their homes, family members and colleagues, while trying to help others.

“But everyone is trying their best to get aid in and help the most vulnerable. And it is arriving and scaling up. Despite their grief and the challenges on the ground, Oxfam staff in Haiti are working flat-out to make this operation a success.”