On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, the most powerful quake to hit in more than 200 years. The earthquake killed 222,570 people and injured 300,572. Three million people were affected, including 1.5 million children and youths under 18, out of a population of 9.8 million. More than one million people were left homeless.
World Vision’s emergency response is working in 27 camps and at least 65 locations across Haiti. Activities range from camp management or a combination of child protection, health, education, water, sanitation, and shelter services down to single activities supplying water or building latrines.
As of December 2010, World Vision has achieved the following results:
- 350,448 people received urgently needed household supplies, such as toilet paper, soap and toothpaste, cooking supplies, bed sheets, blankets, buckets, mosquito nets, foot lockers and mats.
- 229,763 households received food aid in the first three months of the response; 70,938 children in 454 schools benefited from school feeding programs between August and October.
- More than 180 feeding centers provided food to 49,200 children not in school.
- 132,153 people were provided with 189.6 million liters of drinkable water.
- 5,653 children registered to play, sing, dance and draw in one of 22 Child-Friendly Spaces.
- More than 1,150 young children ages 3 through 8 attend one of 15 Early Childhood Development Learning Spaces that provide community-based learning
- 113,409 tarpaulins and 7,497 tents were provided to families in need.
- Transitional shelters were provided for an initial 620 families.
- More than 14,770 people participated in cash-for-work programs.
- 1,988 people participated in cash-for-training programs, learning skills such as gardening techniques, masonry and carpentry.
- Five fixed and four mobile health clinics served 11 camps in Port-au-Prince and two mobile clinics served three camps at the border.
Despite the significant progress made by agencies in meeting immediate needs in Haiti since the earthquake, great challenges remain for survivors.
In October 2010, a cholera epidemic emerged and has claimed over 2,350 lives by mid-December. Conditions conducive to the spread of cholera in Haiti, including a lack of potable water, inadequate sanitation and health facilities, and poor hygiene practices give experts reason to predict up to 400,000 cases in the first year.
World Vision responded to the epidemic immediately, deploying medical teams to affected areas and providing medical supplies, hygiene kits and water treatment equipment to hospitals and communities.
World Vision’s cholera response is two-pronged, encompassing both prevention and treatment. The priority is assisting communities where the agency has existing earthquake response and long-term development programs.
Many challenges lie ahead in the reconstruction and transformation of Haiti. Due to the complexity of the crisis, and the compounding impact of cholera, the relief phase is still far from over, even though some recovery work has begun.
In the years ahead, World Vision’s core goal in Haiti will be to help develop safe and sustainable communities, in collaboration with partner agencies, the Government and local authorities. The aim is to ensure that the needs of communities are properly addressed while building local capacity for disaster mitigation and reducing the potential for conflict.