Six months after an earthquake devastated Haiti on 12th January 2010, Handicap International has made an interim assessment of the situation, and is planning for the future. Handicap International currently has a team of 500 people in Haiti, including 80 expatriate staff, the organisation’s largest ever deployment. Our activities are based around three key pillars: health, meeting basic needs and managing a logistics platform.
A central role in the effective coordination of humanitarian aid
As part of the management of 70 lorries for the logistics platform of the World Food Programme (WFP), Handicap International has transported humanitarian aid for around one hundred NGOs, including some fifteen Haitian organisations.
On 26th January 2010, the UN and the WHO entrusted Handicap International and the German organisation Christian Blind Mission (CBM) with jointly coordinating all rehabilitation activities for injured persons in Haiti, the fitting of orthopaedic devices and the provision of assistance to people with disabilities. To achieve this, the two organisations are working with the Haitian Ministry for Public Health and Population (MSPP) and the Secretariat of State for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities (SEIPH) and all other stakeholders operating in these fields.
10,000 people already cared for by Handicap International
To date, more than 10,000 people have benefited from Handicap International’s health actions; over 55,000 rehabilitation sessions have been performed; 4,000 technical aids have been distributed (mobility aids and orthopaedic devices); almost 300 people have been or are in the process of being fitted with a prosthesis and almost 200 with an orthosis. Handicap International has also provided psychosocial support sessions to 13,000 people.
Over 13,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid transported since 14th January
Out of the total transported tonnage, 9,000 tonnes were food aid to meet the basic needs of the population. More than 4,600 tents were distributed, providing shelter for 25,000 people. Lastly, more than 2,000 people took part in “cash for work” projects set up by Handicap International.
Three to five years needed to rise to the humanitarian challenge in Haiti
Handicap International is starting to concentrate on longer-term activities. The provision of liveable, hurricane- and earthquake-resistant temporary accommodation for isolated and vulnerable victims of the earthquake will be one important new area of action. We will also continue to support and rehabilitate the injured, while gradually focusing our attention on the most serious cases and people with disabilities. In the next stage of our interention, Handicap International intends to develop reconstruction and accessibility projects, disaster preparation and prevention activities, and diploma-based training for Haitian rehabilitation and orthopaedic-fitting staff. The underlying aim is to build the capacity of Haitians so that the management of these projects can be transferred to them over the long-term.
