Working on Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD) to facilitate the transition between the short term eme
ECHO FACTSHEET
Haiti earthquake response
shortage Facts & Figures
€213 million in humanitarian assistance in Haiti since 2010
€100 million in 2010 for emergency assistance after the earthquake
ECHO is the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department and comes under the responsibility of Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.
Cash for Work activities to remove rubble and support the livelihood of earthquake victims. EC/ECHO/S.P.Díaz
Key messages
In 2010, following the earthquake, ECHO allocated €100 million to provide emergency assistance to the victims of the earthquake. Most commonly this aid covered basic needs such as food, water, sanitation, basic shelter and health care.
Throughout 2011 and 2012, ECHO continued to address the humanitarian needs of the victims of the earthquake. A strong focus has been put on helping people still living in camps return or relocate to permanent housing in neighborhoods equipped with basic services and public facilities, and sometimes provide rental support while families get back on their feet.
Working on Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD) to facilitate the transition between the short term emergency and recovery interventions and longer term development is part of ECHO's strategy.
European Commission – Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection B-1049 Brussels, Belgium Tel.: (+32 2) 295 44 00
[email protected] For further information please contact Isabel Coello, ECHO's Regional Information Officer for Latin America:
[email protected] Website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo
ECHO Factsheet Haiti – April, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Background Haiti is the poorest country of the Americas. Before the earthquake, 77% of people lived with less than 2 USD/day and 60% had no access to health care. Haiti is also a highly disaster prone one, especially to tropical cyclones, floods, mudslides and earthquakes. Climate change, deforestation, topography, poverty and lack of investments make the population of Haiti especially vulnerable. On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 degree earthquake devastated the country. It killed 222,750 people, displaced 1.5 million, and left 313,000 houses damaged or destroyed. It is seen as the most destructive urban disaster of recent history, with total damages worth an estimated USD 7.9 billion, equivalent to 120% of Haiti’s GDP.
The European Union's Humanitarian Response ECHO reacted swiftly to the earthquake and devoted in the emergency phase €100 million (2010) to fund projects in key areas such as shelter, health, nutrition, water and sanitation or food assistance, extending also the assistance to the families outside Port-au-Prince who were hosting victims of the earthquake. It was a massive humanitarian operation. With ECHO funding, humanitarian organisations carried out a wide range of emergency operations, like the provision of Ready to Eat Meals, an unprecedented cash for work program oriented to rubble removal, mobile clinics, healthcare and operating units, support to orthopedics, prosthetics and physiotherapy programs. Following the earthquake, ECHO addressed also agricultural recovery with seeds and tools, treated acute malnutrition in settlements, distributed safe water, worked on springs and water sources rehabilitation, and provided psychosocial support for children, people in camps and affected population. The EU civil protection mechanism was also activated and 25 European countries were involved in providing, among others, 12 urban search and rescue teams, 38 medical teams and supplies, 2 field hospitals, 6 water sanitation units and 2,334 tents for approximately 20,000 people. EU also co-financed costs of transporting assistance, one of the important functions of the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism. Post emergency The earthquake humanitarian response has continued in 2011 and 2012, addressing the main humanitarian needs still prevalent throughout the country while gradually allowing for reconstruction efforts to take the lead. To address the post emergency needs, ECHO has favoured the ‘neighbourghood approach’. The central objective of this approach is to rehabilitate structures that provide neighbourghoods with basic needs such as access to water and primary health care. This creates a pull-factor encouraging displaced people to find permanent housing solutions in well-equipped neighborhoods rather than more urban and less sanitary slums. Facilitating the transition between the short term emergency interventions and longer term development work, i.e. Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD) has been an important part of ECHO's strategy in Haiti. At the same time, ECHO's partners have worked to ensure a minimal package of services to those still living in camps, helping them with find income-earning activities. Manise Zephyr, 27 (in the picture) was trapped in rubble for days after the earthquake, and lost an arm. She received treatment and a prosthesis but she needed a new way to make a living, since she could no longer work at a restaurant like she used to. In 2012 she was chosen as a beneficiary of a program carried out by Handicap International to support livelihoods of people with disabilities. Manise received a small help to start a small business. "Thanks to this business I can now pay my own rent, live on my own, which before was impossible," Manise says. "I hope this little business will grow and allow me to meet my 5-year-old girl needs." she says.
ECHO Factsheet Haiti – April, 2013
Page 2 of 2
