10 Days After the Earthquake, Haitians Still Need Medical Assistance

Veronika Sherova

Environment and Human Rights researcher,

Global Human Rights Defense. 

In the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti’s southern peninsula on 14th of August, officials have reported over 2,207 people dead, at least 344 missing, and over 12,268 injured. Not yet being fully recovered from the earthquakes of 2010 and 2018 which scaled 7.0 and 5.9 respectively, another 650,000 people are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance as of the 25th of August.

Affected area, Google maps

25 water supplying systems have been damaged and 32 health facilities have either been destroyed or partly affected, leaving at least 119,000 people without safe water and decent sanitation.

Haiti’s government coordinates relief efforts together with the United Nations agencies, donor countries, and humanitarian partners through the National Emergency Operations Centre.  Despite the existing achievements, including distribution of safe water to more than 60,000 displaced people, 20,000 WASH supplies (emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene), 5,000 hygiene kits, and hundreds of dignity kits for women, access to health care services and sanitation continues to be a challenge. Hospitals in Les Cayes and rural clinics continuously report significant numbers of earthquake-linked injuries, shortages of equipment and medicines, and the resulting inability to address urgent medical needs.

Environmental disasters are always associated with humanitarian crises in which the right to health is primarily endangered. Other rights are strictly related to it, e.g. the absence of decent health can cause educational setbacks or prevent development at work. Ensuring the right to health, the international community certainly and indivisibly determines the accessibility of other human rights for the Haitian people.

Everyone can support the Haitian people by making a financial contribution to the Central Emergency Response Fund or donating to longer-term recovery.

 To donate:

United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund: https://cerf.un.org/donate;

Long-term recovery. UNDP and partners. For more information, please contact Stephanie Ziebell, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Haiti at: stephanie.ziebell@undp.org.

 I think you’ve produced, yet again, a really good news burst. I’m seriously impressed by your writing and presentation skills. I’m not sure what kind of outline you use, but it might be worth sharing. Keep up the good work!

For further consideration:

Relief web portal reports:

Haiti: Earthquake Situation Report No. 1, 22 August 2021,  https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-earthquake-situation-report-no-1-1100-am-est-22-august-2021;

Haiti Earthquake Situation Report #3, 25 August 2021, https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-earthquake-situation-report-3-august-25-2021;

The New Humanitarian, Half a million in need after Haiti quake, 20 August 2021, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2021/8/20/Taliban-Afghanistan-Haiti-US-deployment-Cheat-Sheet;

United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, Haiti: UN and partners continue assistance in the earthquake response,  17 August 2021, https://www.unocha.org/story/haiti-un-and-partners-continue-assistance-earthquake-response.