United Nations humanitarian agencies make progress in Haiti, despite obstacles

NEW YORK, 9 November (OCHA) -- United Nations agencies operating in Haiti report that the humanitarian situation in Haiti’s north-western city of Gonaïves is improving though serious concerns remain.

Although access to the city of Gonaïves, the area hardest hit by a recent string of natural disasters, has been restored, delivering aid there remains difficult.  Last week, two trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were attacked as they entered the city.  One of the trucks, which were contracted to the World Food Programme (WFP), was looted of more than 30 metric tonnes of food.

Despite the security concerns, there has been progress in humanitarians’ efforts to supply clean water to people in need around Gonaïves.  Though the work of United Nations agencies, government authorities and non-governmental organizations has greatly increased the amount of clean water being distributed to 500 cubic metres per day, that amount is still far short of the 3,500 cubic metres that a population of some 200,000 people would normally require.  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the non-governmental organization Oxfam are working together to restore the clean water supply to some 50 schools in Gonaïves.  They are also working together to clean and disinfect wells in the area.

Due in large part to the presence of a 120-bed Canadian/Norwegian Red Cross field hospital, health care in Gonaïves is now considered to be better than it was before storms battered the city in September.  But the health sector still suffers from a lack of Haitian doctors at the Red Cross Hospital, a shortage of free medical services and difficulty in replacing epidemiologists who have left the area.  A recent assessment by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) showed that the Haitian Ministry of Health will not be able to sustain the provision of free health care from the main hospital in Gonaïves.  The UNFPA has, therefore, decided to help by funding the hiring of Haitian personnel to coordinate medical services.

As the vast majority of Gonaïves’ population depends on agriculture for employment, and 80 per cent of the area’s irrigation systems were destroyed, restoring those systems is an urgent priority.  Humanitarian groups would like to begin work in this area before winter begins, around 15 November, but they are hampered by a lack of resources -- no funds have been pledged for rehabilitation programmes described under the Haiti Floods Flash Appeal for Haiti launched last month.  The WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and non-governmental organizations such as Concern and World Vision are working to address the needs of rural populations by distributing seeds in villages outside Gonaïves.

United Nations humanitarian agencies have received only 27 per cent of the $37 million required under the Haiti Floods Flash Appeal.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs New York, tel.: 917 367 5126, mobile: 917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.: 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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