HAITI EARTHQUAKE –Nearly 75,000 Dead International Coordination for Efficient Aid Delivery Required

Summary:  As the full scope of the damage wrought by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 is revealed, calls for increased coordination and faster, more efficient aid delivery increase.  The outpouring of support from nations and individuals around the world has been massive and immediate.  Yet, getting relief to communities and individuals in need has been painfully slow.  Reasons for the bottleneck in aid delivery vary, but include structural bureaucracies, and a weakened Haitian government that has lost human and material infrastructure.   The latest barriers to aid delivery have been misinformation and rumors regarding the security situation in the country.  The priority for every country and agency working in Haiti must be the efficient and efficacious delivery of relief to communities in need. Thousands of lives are at risk due to delays in distributing food, water, medical equipment, and supplies.  Please contact the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (www.usaid.gov/public_inquiries.html, 202.712.4810), which is coordinating the U.S. relief efforts.

Background: Many first responders in Haiti complain of procedural obstacles that impede the distribution of food, water, and medicine to people in need.  For example, Doctors Without Borders reports that the arrival of a twin-theatre inflatable hospital was delayed because one of the planes carrying it did not get permission to land at Port-au-Prince airport on Saturday and was re-routed to the Dominican Republic.  Additionally, TransAfrica has received reports that medical supplies from Cuba have also been delayed despite the fact that doctors from that country have been working in Haiti around the clock since the earthquake hit.  While the number of flights into the Port-au-Prince airport has increased from three flights per day, prior to the earthquake, to 153 flights per day today with the airport operating on a 24 hour cycle, landing and clearance criteria are unclear.

The need is great. The death now is nearly 75,000; and according to Partners in Health there are as many as 20,000 deaths per day attributed to lack of surgery.  Cities outside of Port-au-Prince are completely cut off and have received little to no food, water, or emergency assistance. News reports indicate that thousands are at risk of dying due to a lack of medical supplies and personnel.  In an interview with Partners in Health staff, Democracy Now! reported:  “…people are dying minute to minute to minute, because we don’t have the surgical capacity to take care of their wounds, to decompress the infections.”

While the U.S. is coordinating closely with more than 30 nations and hundreds of NGOs to deliver food and water quickly throughout the country John Ibbitson of Canada’s Globe and Mail reports that “Even as Canada and Canadians rush forward with the most ambitious response to a humanitarian crisis in this country's history, it is becoming clear that the United States is taking charge of the relief effort, despite international protests over American high-handedness.”

The U.S. is making a considerable contribution of human and financial resources to assist the people of Haiti, such as: 

The impact of these contributions is diminished if aid is not delivered to the most needy and if the international community believes that the U.S. is acting in a “high-handed” way.  Please contact the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (www.usaid.gov/public_inquiries.html, 202.712.4810) which is coordinating the U.S. relief efforts and encourage: 

• Immediate release of essential supplies;
• Air clearance for relief flights to additional cities; and
• Coordinated, efficient, and expedient distribution of
  all aid.

Make Your Voice Heard.  Call USAID today!

TransAfrica Forum is the leading U.S. advocacy organization for Africa and the African Diaspora in U.S. foreign policy. TransAfrica Forum helped lead the world protest against apartheid in South Africa and today works for human and economic justice for African people on the continent of Africa, in Latin America and in the Caribbean. Contact us: TransAfrica Forum, 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006, 202.223.1960, www.transafricaforum.org.