Rebuilding Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI—Action Against Hunger | ACF International has provided emergency services in clean water, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene to more than 100,000 people since the earthquake devastated the Haitian capital one month ago today. The humanitarian organisation has also expanded its current operations in Port de Paix and Gonaives, cities that have experienced an influx of hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors fleeing the capital.



Update from Port-au-Prince

* Clean water: Action Against Hunger has installed 41 large water reservoirs and five water treatment stations in hard-hit neighbourhoods across Port-au-Prince that provide daily clean drinking water access to nearly 70,000 people.

* Sanitation: The humanitarian agency is constructing 100 latrines equipped with hand-washing stations and has mobilised 60 staff members to conduct public awareness campaigns in displacement camps on best hygiene practices in emergency settings.

* Nutrition Services: A dozen makeshift tents are now operational in Port-au-Prince, providing nearly 500 mothers and their young children with a safe setting for breastfeeding, as well as counselling and psycho-social support, each day. The centres also provide feedings to forty infants whose mothers were killed or injured in the earthquake.

* Distributions: Since the earthquake, Action Against Hunger has distributed 62 tons of high-protein BP5 biscuits, 3,600 blankets and more than 2,000 emergency kits containing plastic sheeting, soap, buckets and other essential items. Some 35,000 people have benefited from Action Against Hunger’s distributions.


Strengthening programmes in surrounding areas

In response to the arrival of an estimated 500,000 survivors from Port-au-Prince who have taken refuge with families in nearby cities of Gonaives and Port de Paix, Action Against Hunger has scaled up programmes in nutrition, health, clean water and sanitation already underway prior to the earthquake. Having run programmes in these cities since 2001, the organisation is focused on the treatment of severely malnourished children; the installation of clean drinking water stations, latrines and other sanitation facilities; and the provision of technical and logistical support for local health centres and hospitals.



The consequences of this disaster are unimaginable and it will take a long time before Haitians will be able to return to any kind of normality. The cameras might no longer focus on Haiti, but our teams are there, working together with communities to make a difference to tens of thousands of survivors.



Action Against Hunger has launched a public emergency appeal. Call 08456 003618 or click here

News from Haiti

•So far, 20,000 children have received high-energy biscuits so far, and Action Against Hunger UK are reaching more people on a daily basis

•400,000 litres of water are being distributed every day, providing access to safe drinking water to some 100,000 people. Every day, more water points are being set up in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas

•Hundreds of breast-feeding mothers receive nutritional and psychological support in our baby tents, which have been set up amongst the makeshift tent cities all over Port-au-Prince

•Sanitation is an immediate priority. The rainy season is about to start and sanitation problems can quickly turn into a health disaster. Our teams are working round-the-clock to set up latrines, dig trenches and implement hygiene-promotion sessions

•We currently have some 40 international staff and 250 national staff in Port-au-Prince, plus an additional 50 colleagues in Gonaives and Port de Paix

•The media spotlight has moved on: but our teams continue to make a life-saving difference every day.

Aid Reaches Thousands of Earthquake Survivors in Haiti

Humanitarian organisation rushes to provide access to food, water & sanitation in stricken areas

February 2, 2010| PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — Three weeks after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck parts of western Haiti, Action Against Hunger | ACF-International is providing displaced families with access to food, water and sanitation in hard-hit neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. In spite of gasoline shortages, airport delays and other logistical limitations, the international humanitarian organisation has assisted thousands of people left homeless and in dire need of life-sustaining supplies.


Targeted Food Distributions

As the risk of acute malnutrition grows in Haiti, ACF is distributing high-protein biscuits to families with children under five, who are most vulnerable to the life-threatening condition. To date, Action Against Hunger has handed out 26 tons of vitamin-laden BP5 biscuits to over 13,000 people. By working in close cooperation with the neighbourhood communities established in the camps, ACF is working to ensure efficient and safe distributions.



In cooperation with the World Food Programme, Oxfam, and the National Food Security Coordination Unit, Action Against Hunger is also carrying out a rapid assessment of the food security situation in affected areas to determine immediate and longer-term needs of the population.



More Supplies Arriving

A cargo plane carrying emergency supplies landed in Santo Domingo on Friday to reinforce ACF’s emergency relief efforts. This chartered flight, the organisation’s fourth since the quake, carried additional emergency food, and water and sanitation supplies, including 4,200 sheets, 14,000 blankets, 30 tons of BP5 biscuits, water taps and additional bladder tanks. Five ACF vehicles are currently en-route from the Dominican Republic to Haiti.



Action Against Hunger has implemented programmes in Haiti since 1985, focusing primarily on food security and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in both emergency and recovery contexts in Port de Paix, Gonaives, Anse Rouge and Jeremiah.





Action Against Hunger has launched a public emergency appeal. Call 08456 003618 or click here

HAITI: mother-baby tents established to protect the youngest survivors of the quake

Port-au-Prince - Amidst the camps for earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince, Action Against Hunger | ACF-International has established multiple mother-baby centres specifically designed to provide a range of services to mothers with young children, including a safe environment for breastfeeding, as well as medical, nutritional and psychological support. Some 5,000 mothers and their infants will receive assistance in these makeshift tents.



Action Against Hunger is targeting mothers with children under six months, who are vulnerable to malnutrition, as well as diseases resulting from contaminated water supplies and poor hygiene. Breast-milk contains a high concentration of antibodies and helps protect young children from infection. The centres are also designed to provide a sense of security for mothers and children recovering from trauma.



“Breastmilk is vital for a baby’s health, especially in an acute crisis situation such as this” said Lucile Grosjean, a spokesperson for Action Against Hunger in Haiti. “It is the best way to ensure a child is nourished and feels safe and protected. Breast milk contains a high number of antibodies and helps protect young children from infection. The centres are also designed to help mothers relax under these difficult circumstances.”



A woman named Helene arrived this weekend at one of our breastfeeding centres in the devastated Canape-Vert district of Port-au-Prince. Her baby was born in the street without any medical support. Due to the unhygienic conditions, the baby quickly developed conjunctivitis. Helene is now living in a makeshift tent with her 13 day old baby and her other children but is struggling to deal with a newborn in such difficult conditions. Upon arrival, Julie, a trained psychologist who runs the centre alongside her colleague Pierre, immediately performed a quick medial assessment and provided Helene with clean drinking water, food and a mat to lie on. With around-the-clock care, Helene’s baby is now recovering and Helene is breastfeeding her child successfully.



Before Action Against Hunger established these centres, Chantal, another young mother, scavenged for food and water for her three-month-old baby Cassandra among the rubble-strewn streets of Port-au-Prince. Now, she has a place to rest while she breastfeeds her child and receives additional nutritional support and hygiene instruction.



Action Against Hunger encourages mothers to visit these tents daily or as needs arise. Soon the centres will transform into nurseries where mothers can play with their children, engage in soothing activities like sewing and basket making, and embark on the long road to recovery.



Our team of nutritionists make regular visits to each of the nursing centres. “These centres are a real help to mothers in a crisis situation like this,” said Uwimama, Action Against Hunger’s nutrition coordinator. “In an emergency situation, young infants need special care. In addition, the bond between a mother and her child is really important for the child’s development and well-being. Mothers are traumatised so it is crucial to give them support and a feeling of security.”

Testimonies from Haiti: Resilience and mobilisation sets the mood - even in the most desperate of communities

By Lucile Grosjean, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Here in Croix Deprez the mood is resilient and strong. I witness those who have lost everything, and are living day-to-day on the bare minimum. However, despite catastrophic circumstances, there is a real, heartfelt sense of community spirit, the pulling together in the name of national solidarity.

Today I met Serge Felix, a young 30 year old father. Luckily, Serge was at the barbers when the quake hit – his house was completely destroyed, and had he been there….he may not be alive today. With his head half shaven, as a result from the quake, he says:

“The clothes that I was wearing are the only things I have. I want to find a job to meet the needs of my family, and to make my contribution to those in need. Before the earthquake, I wanted to leave my country in order to do a Masters in Human Sciences, and then find work. Now everything has changed. I have solid training, I already have 10 years professional experience; I can help my country. So, without question, I must stay here to help. I am ready for anything now.”

True to his word, Serge is currently helping his community by assisting with Action Against Hunger’s relief efforts. He has already helped install a waterpoint near the refugee camp in Croix Deprez, and is distributing water units to his fellow survivors.

The same surge of solidarity can also be felt in Gonaïves, situated five hours North of Port au Prince. With a town barely recovered from the huge cyclones of 2008, and the community now faced with further destruction, locals are refusing to give into the situation, and those that can, are giving everything they have to those worse off. As such, gifts of clothes, toys and tools have all arrived at the Action Against Hunger office in the Gonaïves.

This mark of generosity and overall feeling of national solitary, in the face of adversity, gives me hope in a country so crippled by tragedy.


Action Against Hunger has launched a public emergency appeal. Call 08456 003618 or click here

Action Against Hunger extends programmes to towns outside Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince – One week since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti, it is now a race against time to provide access to clean, safe drinking water to the survivors. Action Against Hunger | ACF International is already providing safe drinking water to 40,000 individuals in the neighbourhoods of Champs de Mars and Canape-Vert while finalising the setting up of additional water reservoirs in the stadium and the Croix de Pres district. The organisation’s teams are also finalising preparations to set up water reservoirs and rehabilitate water points in Leogane, 30 kilometres west of the capital. The water network in the region had already been seriously damaged during the cyclones of 2008, and with 80% of the city destroyed, some 125,000 quake survivors are in desperate need.



“Our 120 strong-team is working with local communities to manage the security and effective distribution of water at all water points,” said Action Against Hunger’s Lucile Grosjean in Haiti. “Four community members are nominated to join each water management committee, in charge of running the distributions. By involving local volunteers, Action Against Hunger ensures the effective delivery of water to those in desperate need.”



Meanwhile, the organisation’s teams in the neighbouring town of Gonaives, which has seen a massive influx of people from Port-au-Prince, have started to distribute water to hospitals and health centres. “Not a single drop of water is currently available in the K-Soleil hospital,” reported Lucile Grosjean on Tuesday. “Doctors and nurses have no water to wash their hands and patients are desperately thirsty. Relatives are trying to buy water in the streets, but with little money available and prices doubling in most regions, it is nearly impossible to find drinking water.”



Action Against Hunger is also finalising preparations to launch food distributions, despite facing severe logistical problems, including fuel shortages and the hugely congested airport. 45 metric tons of protein biscuits to provide for the nutritional needs of 18,000 children under five years old are currently being transported from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince, and will be distributed from tomorrow onwards.





Action Against Hunger has launched a public emergency appeal. Call 08456 003618 or click here