UNICEF Haiti Six Month Update

 

U.S. Fund for UNICEF

All told, some three million people, or 30 percent of the population, have been affected.

Still, with nearly 40 percent of all Haitians under the age of 15, this disaster is correctly called a children’s emergency. The 1.5 million children that have been directly affected by the disaster represent an entire generation of Haitians that will have to struggle with harsh memories of what they have witnessed. They will also have the opportunity to have a hand in the rebuilding of their country.

Sadly, Haiti’s children were up against unfavorable circumstances before the earthquake:

• One in every 13 infants died before the age of five; over 30 percent of Haitians under the age of five were chronically undernourished;

• 55 percent of school-aged children were out of school;

• 50,000 children were in some 600 residential care facilities; and

• An estimated 2,000 girls and boys were trafficked across borders annually.

Despite hardships, the mobilization of international humanitarian assistance in support of UNICEF and the Government of Haiti has been on a scale rarely seen in the past, thanks to the generosity, commitment and support of governments, partners, and the public. Thanks to this outpouring of support, UNICEF mobilized an unprecedented global response with some 300 staff and consultants from around the world deployed to Haiti over the past three months up from 56 prior to the earthquake.

In the Dominican Republic, “Lifeline Haiti” was set up as a support hub for the UNICEF Haiti Country Office with some 20 to 30 staff focusing on managing the emergency funds; channeling in aid personnel; facilitating warehousing, transportation, supply logistics, and delivering services at the border; and providing information technology support.

The emergency response phase has averted an even worse catastrophe: the basic needs of many of the affected population have been met, and major outbreaks of disease or unrest have not materialized. This has been no small achievement. A vast array of international and national partners have mobilized huge resources and, after a slow start, ensured the delivery of shelter, food, water, health, nutrition and other basic services to well over a million affected people. Much however, remains to be done. With the upcoming rainy and hurricane seasons, the relocation of displaced people to safer shelters, along with the provision of basic services and the protection of children and women, remain top priorities.

UNICEF, with its partners, will continue to support the relief operations and assist in the reconstruction and recovery phase. In the post-earthquake era, children remain at the core of the reconstruction, recovery,

and development processes. UNICEF Haiti’s three priorities for 2010 include:

• Keeping children alive and strong;

• Keeping children safe from abuse and neglect; and

• Ensuring that children are learning.

By focusing on these areas, UNICEF intends to help build a Haiti with a transformative agenda to make it a better place for all children and youth. Haiti’s recovery must begin with its children and their communities. Only with children at the center of the reconstruction effort can we build a new Haiti—a Haiti fit for children.

The immediate health concerns of children following the earthquake were injuries. Three months later, women and children are at a much higher risk of various health threats, particularly communicable diseases. The stress of displacement combined with lack of proper shelter, safe water and adequate nutrition, and close proximity of persons in overcrowded shelters have increased children’s susceptibility to acute respiratory infections and deadly childhood diseases such as measles and diarrhea.

So far, UNICEF has prevented the spread of childhood diseases by:

• Initiating an immunization campaign targeting 500,000 children. The campaign combines vaccinations and vitamin A distribution. It is nearly complete in Port-au-Prince;

• Providing 53 new refrigerators for vaccine storage in health centers throughout the affected areas;

• Procuring 400,000 long lasting insecticide treated bed nets for distribution to 200,000 households;

• Delivering 134 Emergency Health Kits to cover the medical needs of 134,000 people for three months through mobile and stationary health facilities;

• Providing 1.2 million people with more than 5 liters of clean drinking water each day;

• Distributing Hygiene Kits to over 18,400 families;

• Establishing 136 outpatient therapeutic feeding centers for the management of acute malnutrition and 26 nutrition stabilization centers to treat children with complications due to malnutrition; and

• Designing a package of high impact nutritional interventions that can be scaled up to cover children’s nutritional needs for the next 12 months.

UNICEF will continue to provide support to ensure immediate access to basic health care for women and children, including support to emergency immunization activities. UNICEF is also working on the reestablishment of a sustainable public health system for maternal, neonatal and child health services (including HIV services) at community and health facility levels.

The earthquake has exacerbated the vulnerability of hundreds of thousands

Photo

Haiti: Sofia feeds her five-month-old daughter a cup of ready-to-use infant formula, in a baby-friendly tent. © UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0187/Shehzad Noorani4 Haiti: Three Months after the Earthquake

of children in Haiti, especially for those at risk of separation from family. A primary risk facing children immediately after the earthquake remains separation from family care. The already weak systems in place to protect children have been further depleted with the loss of social work personnel, logistics and office space. While some children have found temporary care with families and institutions that are protective, many others are at risk of trafficking, abuse and exploitation. In addition, children currently with families living in extreme poverty are vulnerable to abandonment—raising the risk of a second phase of separation and increased vulnerability to sexual abuse and violence.

In response, UNICEF is increasing its field presence of protection staff, assessments and engagement with partners ready to work in these areas. Key locations affected by the earthquake will be covered, as well as strategic border points where children are most at risk from trafficking. So far, UNICEF has succeeded in:

• Registering 767 separated children in camps and residential facilities;

• Training over 150 caseworkers on child registration and family tracing;

• Providing 55,000 children with psychosocial support each week through the establishment of 78 child-friendly spaces;

• Assessing the quality of 359 residential child care centers hosting some 25,500 children;

• Broadcasting child protection messaging in Creole on Haitian radio to reach 3 million people;

• Providing 1,637 Child Protection Kits, each containing items such as clothes, towels, toothpastes, soap, sheets, and blankets.

Moving forward, UNICEF will continue to assist the Haitian government strengthen its monitoring and reporting systems in order to respond to children’s psychosocial needs and protect them from sexual violence. UNICEF is contributing to the strategy to strengthen security, prevent and respond to increased reports of gender-based violence. UNICEF will assess the capacity of local partners, associations and networks to conduct