Haiti Quake Updates

International agency Oxfam warns today a Herculean effort is still needed if public health in Haiti is not to deteriorate. Time is pressing as there are only six weeks before the start of the raining season.

The agency said there have been enormous and successful efforts in getting clean water and food to people since the quake hit exactly a month ago. To date, Oxfam  has provided assistance to about 100,000 people and continues to scale up operations, planning to reach at least 500,000 people by the end of July.

But the same progress must now be made in tackling poor sanitation and the aid agency says a surge in effort is needed from the international community, the UN and aid agencies in advance of the rainy season, due in April.

The organisation fears that cases of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases could spread given the combination of poor drainage, a limited number of latrines and crowded living conditions.

Oxfam has so far installed latrines at 11 key sites and many more are planned. Public health teams are also working with communities to reduce the risk of disease by rubbish-clearing and awareness-raising. But there is still a long way to go.

“Thanks to the generous public and political response the aid effort has rapidly expanded to meet people’s needs but there is still a mountain to climb.

“We now need a surge in effort to improve sanitation facilities for people in Haiti. Let us not kid ourselves that this is going to be easy, it requires a Herculean humanitarian effort from all quarters.

“Around 230,000 people lost their lives on January 12. It is our priority to make sure that we don’t let that number grow,” said Marcel Stoessel, Head of Oxfam in Haiti.

The temporary camps where people have congregated are fast-becoming over-crowded slums and need upgrading to allow easy access to basic services. More ditches need to be dug to improve the drainage in the crowded camps before the rains begin. Oxfam also fears for the safety of people who have moved to areas that are at risk from land and mudslides because of the upcoming rains.

The Government has plans to resettle people but it still needs to clarify whether there is government land available or if it needs to confiscate private land instead. It also needs to ensure that people are not forced to move away from their communities, that new camps are safe and that there is a plan in place to ensure that camps do not becoming dumping grounds outside the city. These decisions need to be taken quickly.

The huge logistical challenges facing the aid effort - communications, transport, loss of key staff, destroyed physical and political infrastructure – are slowly being overcome but bottlenecks still remain.

While the coordination of the aid effort is going well, Oxfam said it still needs to be improved. Hundreds of agencies now in Haiti - estimates vary from 500 to 900 – are playing their part in the response and the UN has made great strides in coordinating the aid effort but along with the Government it needs to provide stronger leadership.

As more than 75 per cent of Haiti’s capital needs to be rebuilt, reconstruction will take many years and needs the full support of the international community, Oxfam said. The Government needs to elaborate on its reconstruction vision as the many rumours about its plans are causing a sense of anxiety amongst those who have lost their homes.

“Whatever the vision of the Haitian government is, it should ensure that a newly built Haiti does not recreate the injustices and inequalities of the past.

“The country’s reconstruction ought to be led by Haitians for Haitians,” Stoessel said. “With more than 80 per cent below the poverty line before the earthquake, the needs of Haiti’s poor must be central.”

Though the focus of the aid effort centres around the capital, where the majority of needs are, there is a growing concern about conditions in the countryside where nearly 500,000 people have fled.  Vigilance is needed to ensure that their needs do not fall off the radar and support must be provided to those hosting them.

ENDS

Visit the web site at http://www.oxfam.org

Camp residents have little official information about plans to re-site camps

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Less than a third of people living in one of the largest camps in Port au Prince say that they are willing to move to camps sited outside the city according to a snap-shot survey carried out by international agency Oxfam. If the new improved camps are established close to where they used to live then the proportion willing to move leaps to nearly three quarters.

The survey also revealed that there is little official public information available about plans to move people to new camps. Whilst 63 per cent had heard of the Government plans to resettle people, none had heard it directly from the Government and none had been consulted.

Some 13 per cent of people had heard of the plans from friends, 10 percent from the local radio and just one per cent had heard it from non-governmental organisations.

People surveyed said that any new camp would have to provide the very basics of housing, food, water and medical services as well as employment and schools.

“Living conditions of people in the camps need to be rapidly improved. Many of the current sites will not suitable due to the coming raining seasons which, without adequate drainage and sanitation, threatens to wash away shelters and cause health hazards”, said Marcel Stoessel, Oxfam’s Head of Emergency in Haiti.

Stoessel: “If new camps are set-up then people should be not be forced to go. The camps should be safe to reduce criminality and protect vulnerable groups such as women and children. They should also be seen as temporary solutions not end up as long term slums outside the city limits.”

According to Oxfam there is still no clarity on plans to re-site new camps and there needs to be meaningful consultation with camp residents so that they can make informed decisions.

NOTE: On 3 February 2010, Oxfam conducted a brief face to face questionnaire survey of those who had lost their homes in the earthquake in order to better understand their opinion about the Government’s intention to establish new settlements.

Oxfam surveyed 110 persons (56 female, 54 male leads of families) at the Petionville Golf Club in Delmas, Port au Prince.

Oxfam which has worked in Haiti for many years, is currently helping 80,000 people with water, sanitation, hygiene promotion, emergency shelter, cash for work schemes and distribution of essential items. It plans to help a total of 500,000 people.

Thanks for everyone's support. This is the latest update from the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC). At times of overseas emergency, the DEC brings together a unique alliance of the UK's aid, corporate, public and broadcasting sectors to rally the nation's compassion, and ensure that funds raised go to DEC agencies best placed to deliver effective and timely relief to people most in need. DEC aid agencies include: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.

An Oxfam staff member was killed when part of Oxfam's office crumbled in the devastating quake that hit Haiti on Tuesday.  

Amedee Marescot was a business manager for Oxfam in the country and is survived by his wife and three children who are based in the United States.  

Amedee was Haitian and had worked for Oxfam for 13 years.  He was injured as part of the Oxfam office collapsed and died later in the hospital. 

Penny Lawrence, Oxfam’s International Director said: 

“We are all deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of Amedee and we all send our sincere condolences to his family. He was a dedicated and passionate member of staff and will be greatly missed by his colleagues.  These are dark days for the people who live and also work to help the poor communities of Haiti.”   

The rest of the 100-strong team are safe. However many staff have been severely affected by the earthquake, losing their homes and in some cases members of their family as the result of the disaster. 

Oxfam's 15 emergency specialists in the country are preparing to respond with the provision of water and sanitation. A six-strong team of Oxfam emergency specialists has been dispatched from the UK, USA and Mexico today and the charity is preparing to send additional stocks from its Bicester warehouse in Oxfordshire and humanitarian equipment from Panama. 

Lawrence continued: “The staff in Haiti are extremely experienced in dealing with emergency situations and dealt with the aftermath of the hurricanes that struck Haiti two years ago. Amedee would have wanted to have seen us keep going and get aid to the survivors. In his memory, we are doing exactly that.”  

The Disasters Emergency Committee – a group of the 13 leading UK aid agencies including Oxfam  - launched a joint appeal for funds from the UK public today.  The public can donate to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal by calling 0370 60 60 900 or visiting the website http://www.dec.org.uk/ 

For donations in the US, please use http://bit.ly/haitioa

ENDS 

Oxfam has spokespeople in Haiti and Santo Domingo. 

For information contact: Ian Bray on  +44 (0)1865 472289/ +44 (0)7721 461339 or Rebecca Wynn on + 44 (0) 1865 472530/+ 44 (0) 7769 887139  

Or the Oxfam Media Unit hotline on 01865 472498 or email media.unit@oxfam.org.uk with enquiries