UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says that six months after a devastating earthquake in south-west Haiti caused the deaths of 2,200 people and injured 12,700 more, the international community is coming together with the Government of Haiti to raise up to US$2 billion for the long-term recovery and reconstruction of the French-speaking Caribbean country.
The UN estimates that around 800,000 people were affected by the earthquake. (WFP/Alexis Masciarelli)On Friday, the UN said that approximately 800,000 people were affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck south-west Haiti on August 14, 2021, causing widespread destruction in predominately rural areas.
In addition to the deaths and injuries, thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, and key infrastructure including schools, hospitals, roads and bridges were wrecked, disrupting key services, transport, farming and commerce, the UN said.
It said schooling for 300,000 children was also disrupted.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, the UN said it, along with the Haitian Government and others “swung into action to provide emergency humanitarian aid to the affected people.”
The UN said its humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, “played a central role in coordinating the response.”
“The International Organization for Migration provided temporary shelters for people who lost their homes, food and other items so people could get by,” the UN said.
It said the provision of hot meals for school children by the World Food Program was “stepped up in order to encourage those children whose schools were not destroyed to carry on attending classes.”
The UN said some 60 health facilities were also destroyed, “so emergency wards were supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund).”
“Expectant mothers were cared for and often gave birth in tents,” the UN said, adding that, xix months after the earthquake, “Haiti has moved beyond the immediate emergency and is now looking at long-term recovery and reconstruction.”
In November, the UN noted that the Haitian Government published an assessment of the amount of money it needs to rebuild and recover, stating that it amounted to close to US$2 billion.
The UN said just over three-quarters of that amount, around US$1.5 billion, will go towards “reinvigorating social services”, including housing, health, education and food security programs.
The rest will be spent on boosting agriculture, commerce and industry as well as repairing key infrastructure, the UN said, adding that spending on environmental programs has also been targeted.
The UN said Haiti is not unused to natural disasters, stating that lessons have been learned from the devasting earthquake of January 12, 2010 in which an estimated 220,000 people died, largely in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas.
“The key takeaway from that catastrophic event and the response effort that followed was that national leadership is crucial,” the UN said.
“In 2010, the government was directly impacted by the disaster and was ill equipped and unprepared to coordinate the emergency response on such a huge scale, and as a result, it was side-lined by the international community,” it added. “Haiti also has to do better in terms of introducing more robust disaster risk reduction measures.”
The UN noted that the 2021 earthquake struck as Haiti was facing “multiple crises of an economic, political, security, humanitarian and developmental nature.
“The country has high levels of poverty and ranks 170 out of 189 countries worldwide on the UN Development Program’s Human Development Report 2020,” it said.
“The economy is in dire straits, not helped by a recent blockade of petrol deliveries by armed gangs, which almost brought the country to a standstill,” it added. “Insecurity, including kidnapping, is rife, with gangs controlling many neighborhoods in the capital, Port-au-Prince.”
The UN also lamented that, in July 2021, the Haitian President was assassinated in his home, and that an investigation into his death is continuing.
On top of all these, the UN said Haiti is facing the ongoing threat of COVID-19.
On Wednesday, the Haitian Government is hosting an international conference in Port-au-Prince, at which it hopes to raise at least US$1.6 billion of the US$2 billion it needs “to put the country back on track after the earthquake,” the UN said.
At the same time, it said many donor countries globally are struggling with the extra financial burden the pandemic has put on their resources.
Moreover, the UN said Haiti is, in reality, competing for funds with other crises around the world, such as Afghanistan and the Ethiopian region, Tigray.
“One of Haiti’s trump cards may be its huge Diaspora, especially in the United States, which it’s hoped will contribute to the fundraising effort,” the UN said. “US-based philanthropies are also being targeted.
“The international community in Haiti is warning that if the country doesn’t get the support it needs then its recovery, development and ability to withstand other natural disasters will all be negatively affected,” it added.
