LES CAYES, Haiti — The United Nations plans to launch an appeal Wednesday seeking nearly $200 million to help Haiti in its recovery effort after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the nearly two weeks ago, causing large-scale damage across the southern peninsula.
Two days after the Aug. 10 quake hit southwestern Haiti, Tropical Depression Grace dumped heavy rains in the same quake-affected regions, causing flooding and blocking access to roads.
“As you can imagine, additional human and financial resources are needed to respond to the crisis,” Stephan Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, said Tuesday as the U.N.’s acting deputy emergency relief coordinator, Ramesh Rajasingham, visited Haiti and the regions affected by the deadly tremor.
The epicenter of the powerful quake was eight miles southeast of Petit-Troude-Nippes in the department of Nippes. The regional departments of the Southwest and Grand’Anse also suffered widespread damage, decimating some rural communities. All three regions were devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
More than 2,200 people were killed in the quake when homes, hospitals and churches collapsed. More than 12,200 people were injured and more than 130,000 houses were either damaged or destroyed. Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection, which is leading the quake response, said about 800,000 people have been affected and an estimated 650,000 people — 40% of the 1.6 million people living in the three affected departments — are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance.
Even though the latest earthquake was less catastrophic than the 2010 temblor, which left more than 300,00 dead and 1.5 million injured, the impact has been devastating, the U.N. said.
The U.N.’s appeal is for $187.3 million and targets a half million individuals of the 650,000 most vulnerable.
“We need efforts for recovery and reconstruction to start in earnest and simultaneously with the humanitarian response,” Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry said.
Bruno Lemarquis, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, said the country and its people need the world’s solidarity more than ever to help with the multiples crises.
“Moving towards recovery, and taking into account lessons learned from the devastating 2010 earthquake, it will be absolutely essential to support and rally behind national leadership and coordination efforts, support national and local capacities, systems, economic actors, and to build on Haitian knowledge and expertise,” he said.
The back-to-back disasters hit while Haiti was still reeling from the July 7 assassination of its president, Jovenel Moïse, and as the country faces an escalation in gang violence. The violence has affected more than 1.5 million people since June, with at least 19,000 displaced in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, the U.N. said.
“The compounded effects of an ongoing political crisis, socio-economic challenges, food insecurity and gang violence continue to greatly worsen an already precarious humanitarian situation,” the U.N. said in its latest update of the situation.
In the days since the disaster, efforts to get food and potable water to the quake-ravaged regions have stepped up, and the government, with help from non-governmental organizations like CORE, founded by actor Sean Penn, is starting to remove the debris.
The international Organization for Migration has also issued a preliminary $15 million appeal to deal with the initial needs. It is tracking the movement of the internally displaced people with new technology, including satellite imagery and mobile phones.
For the first time the IOM is also allowing individuals to donate privately for Haiti assistance through a platform that it is using in Afghanistan. Individuals will be able to give from $1 to $100 and the money will be used for items for the vulnerable population, said Giuseppe Loprete, IOM country director for Haiti.
Dr. Carissa Etienne, who heads the World Health Organization’s Americas office, said Wednesday that Haiti’s health ministry is coordinating with humanitarian partners and has asked for additional support for surgical and trauma care for the victims of the earthquake.
The Pan American Health Organization, Etienne said, continues to distribute much-needed medical supplies and is working closely with the Haitian Ministry of Health and emergency teams on the ground. She noted that the quake has delayed a COVID-19 vaccination campaign that was launched just weeks before the disaster struck.
