OCHA - HUMANITARIAN BULLETIN #16 - APR. 2

OCHA - HUMANITARIAN BULLETIN - 16 - ISSUE 16 - APRIL 2, 2012

HIGHTLIGHTS

- 2012 CAP underfunding affects the humanitarian response.

- Lack of coherence, political strategies and guidance hampers reconstruction efforts.

- With the start of the rainy season, number of new cholera cases increases following a steady decline.

- Emergency preparedness activities multiply across the country; reactivation of the Mitigation Task Force.

- Good January and February harvests and stabilization in food prices improve food security.

KEY FIGURES

# IDPs in camps - 490,545

# Cumulative cholera cases - 531,693

# Fatality cases - 7,056

FUNDING

231 million requested (in US$)= 9% Funded

FUNDING

With funding gaps seriously impacting the delivery of frontline services for those in need, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Nigel Fisher, launched on 27 March an appeal to donors for emergency funding totaling US$ 53.9 million to cover priority needs from March to June. Close to half a million displaced people still live in camps created in the aftermath of the earthquake in January 2010.

“Underfunding threatens to stunt growing relocation initiatives to safe housing that already benefited hundreds of thousands of IDPs. It threatens to reverse gains achieved in the fight against cholera through the promotion of sanitary and hygiene practices. It threatens the very existence of hundreds of thousands of IDPs still living in camps”, notes Nigel Fisher in a joint statement made with the Government of Haiti.

Today, the 2012 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) of US$ 231 million is 9 per cent funded. In 2011, the US$ 382 million CAP only received 55 per cent of the total amount requested, which prompted a scale back of services provided by humanitarian actors.

Out of the $53.9 million requested, 11 million is urgently needed to help accelerate returns and relocation initiatives by providing T-shelters and rental subsidies. This allocation will also cover the needs of the people who are not able to leave the camps before the rain and hurricane season.

Another $12.9 million is needed for the provision of potable water, solid waste management and hygiene promotion. Dwindling resources has led to deteriorating living conditions in many camps where WASH actors implementing essential activities have withdrawn. As a consequence, a majority of latrines are not desludged and maintained and hand-washing stations lack enough water and soap.

Inadequate sanitation and lack of clean water will be compounded by flooding during the current rainy season. This is likely to trigger important cholera outbreaks. To respond to the epidemic, which has infected 530,953 people and killed more than 7,000others, the Humanitarian Coordinator is also requesting emergency funding of $14.9million.

Urgent funding of $4.8 million is also required to protect children, women and young girls from abuse and sexual violence perpetrated in camps.

Another $10 million is necessary to prepare for emergency food distributions to an estimated 500,000 people in case of another major disaster.

Awareness training for school officials on preparedness, including management of schools as evacuation shelters, mitigation work on damaged schools and provision of emergency stocks require funding of $180,000.

EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

Many NGOs operated outside of coordination mechanisms

In the aftermath of the earthquake, a large number of NGOs operated outside of any control and coordination mechanisms and never initiated or completed registration procedures with the Ministry of planning and external cooperation, concludes IDRL in Haiti - A study on the legal framework for the facilitation and regulation of international disaster response in Haiti by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The lack of administrative capacity in the months following the earthquake meant that the Haitian authorities were unable to prevent unregistered NGOs from carrying out operations in the country.

Haitian law contains no specific provision for visas for disaster relief and initial recovery personnel. Nationals from almost all countries were allowed to enter the country and stay for a period of 90 days after the earthquake without a visa and without cost, a practice that created potential for abuse. Indeed, the reports notes, any organization, association, religious group or individual was able to enter the country freely and operate outside the established control and coordination mechanisms, outside the existing legal framework and without registering with the government or meeting international standards for humanitarian aid.

The study adds that international assistance as a whole provided in response to the earthquake undoubtedly saved many lives. However, the quality of aid varied greatly. Many organizations, associations, religious groups and individuals arrived in Haiti totally unprepared. Their lack of expertise, experience and self-sufficiency meant that they were a drain on resources that would have been better used to assist the direct victims of the earthquake.

Many NGOs, religious groups, individuals and even some foreign governments were unfamiliar with the established cluster coordination mechanisms and had no experience of international emergency relief situations. The lack of coordination caused problems for the Haitian authorities, who did not always know exactly who was operating in their country. This hampered their leadership role in the emergency response provided by local authorities and also directly affected other international actors trying to perform their work in accordance with the established coordination mechanisms, according to the study.

The study recommends that the Haitian Government develop a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, relief and initial recovery assistance. This would encompass the establishment of specific NGO registration procedures for disaster situations and granting organizations temporary domestic legal status so that they can commence operations in the country more rapidly and in accordance with Haitian legislation.

Official Partners 2012 - Number
UN agencies - 9
International NGOs - 189
NGOs - 202
International organizations - 16

Distribution of funds requested by priority area from March to June

HEALTH - $14.9 million
WASH - $12.9 million
E-SHELTER/CCCM - $11 million
FOOD AID - $10 million
PROTECTION - $4.8 million
EDUCATION - $0.18 million

RECONSTRUCTION:

HOUSING: BETWEEN PROGRESS AND PROBLEMS

Support activities for the repair and reconstruction of houses following the 2010earthquake are not part of a joint and coordinated programme that would ensure consistency or harmony of operations, concludes a UN-HABITAT report.

According to the report Appui à la réhabilitation et la reconstruction de logements dans le contexte post-séisme en Haïti : progrès et problématique, the lack of policy and official strategic guidelines led to a general situation of laissez-faire. Despite this, government actors, UN agencies and NGOs were able to establish and implement consistent approaches, for example as it relates to the “return to neighbourhoods” strategy.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, an estimated 175,000 houses needed to be repaired, retrofitted or rebuilt. However, the report says, in 2010 the majority of donors and implementing agencies focused more on emergency housing than on repairs. At the end of 2010, there were 2,546 completed repair sites. In June 2011 this figure stood at 5,315 out of the 12,184 planned. At the end of 2011, some 13,831 repairs and retrofitting had been completed out of the 25,471 planned.

Progress in reconstruction were also limited due to the scale and concentration of damage, important population displacements, low incomes and the high proportion of tenants and rental housing, among other things. The complexity of the political, institutional and urban environment, and insufficient funds also limited progress.

At the end of 2010, 1,179 permanent houses had been built. In June 2011, some 4,006houses had been built out of the 11,697 planned and at the end of 2011, 5,189constructions were completed out of the 15,224 planned1.

1 These figures do not include activities and commitment from AFD, the "16/6 "project, the World Bank, USAID, IDB and of other major actors. As for repairs, they do not reflect the large number of constructions or reconstructions carried out by a large number of families with their own resources.

Post-quake reconstruction has been hindered by many obstacles, from illegal land occupation, lack of strategic vision to the absence of land registry

URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF PORT-AU-PRINCE ESSENTIAL TO CONTAIN DEVELOPING SLUMS

Some camps will not disappear: they will become (if they have not already) new slums and informal settlements of Port-au-Prince, according to the report of Solidarités International La reconstruction de Port-au-Prince, analyses et réflexions sur les stratégies d’interventions en milieu urbain.

This is the case for example of Canaan and Jerusalem where over 100,000 people settled around the camp Corail in the hope of obtaining a piece of land, receiving aid or finding work. Many are not direct victims of the earthquake and came from the provinces. It is urgent, the report says, to work on a city plan that would curb the growing phenomenon of shanty towns in areas that are part of the urban environment.

But if all actors agree that it is necessary to focus on neighbourhoods, it is equally important not to forget the camps. Only a strategy based on networks and exchanges that links urban entities will manage to have an impact on the entire city, according to the report.

The report also notes that it will be impossible to relocate the 594,0002 (As of February this number was 490,545) people still living in camps in Port-au-Prince. This is mainly due to a housing shortage which is more important now than pre-earthquake. Moreover, not only camp populations will need to be relocated but also those who will be displaced as a result of development work in neighbourhoods and at-risk areas.

The issue of land property is also a major handicap in the reconstruction process. There is no land registry; illegal occupations of land are widespread, tracing owners is difficult and clear guidance from national or municipal authorities is lacking. However, the same issues prevailed before the earthquake. Informal settlements represented 20% of built area and 80% of the population.

The report adds that the transitional shelters provided by the humanitarian community are not adapted to urban environments as their presence on plots of lands prevents future construction work.

It also stresses that it is almost impossible for humanitarian agencies to define new strategies of mass and standardized construction operations as it is done in other countries, such as Indonesia, because of the informal urban structure and density of Port-au-Prince.

NGOs can help with registration activities, identification of occupants, tenants or squatters and the mapping of risk areas. They can also work with the residents to improve neighbourhoods, the report continues. But the development of property rights regulations is the obligation of the Haitian authorities.

CHOLERA RESPONSE

As of 17 Aug 2011 - 30 Cholera Treatment Centres

Cholera Treatment Units - 169

As of 8 Aug 2011 - 1.3% Nationwide Mortality Rate

Cumulative cholera cases - 530,953

Number of deaths - 7,040


Resurgence of cholera with the start of the rainy season

An increase in the number of new cholera cases was reported by the Health Cluster in the Artibonite, Nord-Ouest and Ouest Departments, which confirms predictions of higher incidence of the disease with the arrival of the rainy season.

The latest alerts received by the Cluster at the end of March coincided with the early arrival of abundant and regular rains which will continue until June. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and IOM have deployed medical teams and additional medical supplies in support of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and departmental health authorities.

Since last June, which saw peaks of more than 1,000 cases on certain days, the epidemiological trend had been steadily declining in all 10 departments. In early March, the MSPP recorded 77 daily new cases for the whole country. According to estimates by PAHO, some 200,000 additional people could contract the disease in 2012.

Key areas of the national strategy include access to safe water and sanitation in health care facilities and the most vulnerable areas, dissemination of prevention messages, capacity building in detecting and reporting cholera outbreaks. Strengthening the immediate response to alerts and integrating the management of cholera in the national health care system are also priority issues.

In the midterm, mobilization of mobile evaluation and response teams covering the entire country, educating and mobilizing health workers and establishing oral rehydration points near communities are necessary, says PAHO. It is also crucial to identify reference centers for the treatment of severe cases and pre-position medical supplies to treat up to 40,000 severe and 200,000 moderate cases.

The creation of a national coordination structure in response to cholera recommended

To bolster the government’s capacities to tackle the cholera epidemic, humanitarian actors recommended on 28 March the creation of a national multi-sectoral coordination
structure. This recommendation was made following a meeting on March 28, held under the auspices of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). More than forty representatives of UN agencies, NGOs and donors participated.

Members of this new mechanism would include the Department of Public Health and Population (MSPP), the National Directorate for Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA), the Ministry of Finance and humanitarian actors.

Weak interdepartmental coordination, the non-payment of salaries of staff working in cholera treatment centers run by Haitian authorities and the poor distribution of health supplies have limited the effectiveness of the response. The strengthening of the government´s coordination capacities is all the more necessary that a large number of humanitarian actors scaled down their operations in 2011 due to continued decrease in funding.

It was also recommended to define the terms of reference of this new structure based on the main issues identified, including the payment of wages, the supervision of medical staff, medical supply distribution, inventory tracking, management and treatment of bodies and excreta. Improving the Rapid Response and Case Monitoring System will also prove essential to eliminate delays in the transmission of epidemiological data.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Reactivation of the Mitigation Task Force

With the start of the rainy season, OCHA reactivated the Mitigation Task Force at the request of the Humanitarian Coordinator. The objective of the task force is to get a comprehensive picture of the current and planned mitigation activities implemented by all actors and to coordinate and support their efforts.

The task force will also provide support to the Ministry of Public Work, Transport, Communications and Energy (MTPTCE) for all mitigation activities. The current situation of Haiti has led to a transition process that saw the transfer of coordination responsibilities from some Clusters to the government.

On 3 April, a first general meeting will be led by the MTPTCE/SEEUR and all actors involved in mitigation activities (MTPTCE, DPC, MINUSTAH, UN agencies, NGOs). The aim of this meeting is to share information, resources and assets available and coordinate activities. The task force is due to meet every two weeks.

Deployment of emergency preparedness missions in the field

A joint training operation on the National Risk Management and Disaster System(SNGRD) and tools for information management and rapid needs assessment of the international community took place from 12 to 16 March 2012 in the Nord and Nord-East Departments and on 30 March in Centre Department. Sessions were followed by simulation exercises (SIMEX) in response to natural disasters.

The aim was to test coordination mechanisms between local actors and the international community, mainly the Departmental Emergency Operations Center (COUD) and MINUSTAH Joint Regional Operation Centre (RJOC).

Recommendations to improve operations of both entities focused in particular on the need to strengthen the participation of departmental delegates to the SIMEX, promote the use of French and English in the RJOC, and the use of Creole and French in the COUD.

Six deaths following torrential rains on 28 March

Torrential rains battered the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince in March, killing six people in Morne Calvaire following landslides. The rainy season started early and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that camps housing64,825 displaced people are at risk of flooding. Five camps already suffered considerable damage (see OCHA press release dated March 23).

The CCCM / Emergency Shelter Cluster distributed tents, hygiene kits and tarpaulins to affected families. As a prevention measure, it also provided 1,130 tarpaulins, tents and 45 tools (wheelbarrows, spades, shovels) to the populations of 14 camps.

The Head of IOM Mission, Luca Dall'Oglio, said in the OCHA press release that measures to reduce disaster risks are insufficient to protect people living in camps and other vulnerable locations. Increased canal clearing, rehabilitation of drainage canals and intensification of efforts to replace shelters are essential.

Inauguration of the Quake Prevention Plan for the grand nord area

The Haitian Government, in partnership with the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Helen Clark launched on 23 March the Earthquake Prevention Plan for the grand nord area.

Funded by the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) for a total amount of US$ 9.9 million, the plan aims to reduce vulnerability to seismic hazard in the Nord Department. Training in paraseismic building will benefit construction professionals, 200engineers, 30 masons and architects from the private sector. Populations and authorities will receive information on earthquake hazards and how to address them.

The prevention plan is part of a series of measures taken to strengthen the resilience of infrastructures in order to minimizing economic losses and human lives. In the longer term, the project seeks ways to promote the inclusion of sustainable risk reduction into public policies.

During her discussions with government´s representatives, Helen Clark emphasized the commitment of UNDP to maintain its partnership with Haiti. She also said that efforts in civil protection and disaster risks reduction needed to be strengthened.

Ravines cleaning steps up with the rainy season

The MTPTCE launched the first phase of a large project of ravine cleaning on March 5in some areas of Port-au-Prince. The project is implemented with the support of MINUSTAH military engineers specialized in the rehabilitation of infrastructure such as roads, bridges and drainage systems.

The first phase consisted in the cleaning of 10,500 m3 of ravines in Village de Dieu, Rue Capois, and near the National Theatre. A second phase, scheduled to be completed at the end of the March, is targeting 10,740 m3 of ravines in Fort Dimanche and Belvil.

In 2011, military engineers repaired more than 85,000 meters of roads, removed approximately 13,000 m3 of debris, built 13 water wells and paved 43,000 meters of road.

Fort Liberté getting ready for future emergencies

On 5 March, US Southcom organized a groundbreaking ceremony in Fort Liberté to commemorate the forthcoming construction of an emergency operation center, disaster relief warehouse and fire station. Works are expected to be finalized in May 2012. Once completed, the facilities will be donated to the Directorate of the Civil Protection (DPC) as part of their emergency preparedness and response mechanisms.

Haitian people know better how to protect themselves

According to the results of the second survey Connaissances, attitudes et perceptions (CAP) conducted by Internews between September 2011 and December 2011, Haitians know better how to protect themselves in case of natural disasters, when compared to the first study carried out between December 2010 and March 2011.

The level of ignorance about risk and prevention measures in case of cyclones decreased by 6 per cent. It decreased by 20 per cent for floods, 26 per cent for landslides and 21 per cent for earthquakes. The Nord department saw a 44 per cent decline when considering all risks combined. The Artibonite and Nord-Est departments are the least informed on the three major risks, including floods, earthquakes and cyclones. Risks associated to tsunamis are the least known.

To better prepare for emergencies NGOs create PONT

In November 2011, 27 platforms of NGOs associating 500 local organizations created the Plateforme des organisations nationales et territoriales de la société civile (PONT- SCH). This national platform aims to better coordinate Haitian NGOs preparedness and response activities strengthen local capacity building and partner with other multi-sectoral organisations. Recognized by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MAST), PONT will organize departmental and communal assemblies to promote decentralisation of activities and better resources sharing. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) supported the creation of PONT and continues to facilitate and strengthen its operations through information management capacity building, secretarial functions and advocacy.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström was the guest of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to the Inter American Conference, held from 13 to 16 March in Port-au-Prince. Ms. Wahlström discussed, among other things, the need to work on improving the protection and restoration of the ecosystem, and capacity building for risk governance.

Three new cooperation agreements between Haiti and Cuba

During his two-day visit from 15 to 16 March in Haiti, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs signed three technical cooperation agreements. These bilateral agreements will allow Haiti to receive assistance in the areas of prevention and management of natural disasters, coordination of search and rescue, repair and maintenance of heavy equipment.

This comes in addition to the medical assistance program implemented for the past 14 years that resulted in more than eighteen million consultations. Seventy thousand cholera patients have been treated and three million Haitians received medical consultations from Cuban doctors since the earthquake.

FOOD SECURITY

FEWS NET reports improved food availability

The country's food situation is much less alarming than it was in 2010 and 2011, according to the latest report from FEWS NET covering the period from February to June 2012. This is due to the good harvests of January and February and the stabilization in food prices

Despite price stabilization and good harvests in January and February, camps and slums will experience high levels of food insecurity.

Harvests of sorghum and beans have reached satisfactory levels at the beginning of the year, thus increasing food supply. Current harvests of sweet potatoes, bananas, roots and tubers look promising. In irrigated areas, vegetable gardening is well underway, according to FEWS NET.

The report also indicates that the price stability observed for the past six months had been sustained during the first quarter of the year due to good harvest forecasts for the winter season. In addition, cereal prices on international markets, particularly rice, also tended to stabilize. The price of rice in January and February reached its lowest level since 2008.

However, the western tip of the Nord-Ouest Department and the upper Artibonite will be exposed to levels of food insecurity between April and June due to recurrent droughts. Reserves built up in September and October are about to be exhausted.

The incidence of food insecurity will also remain high in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, particularly in slums and IDP camps.

The Ministry of Agriculture, FAO and NGOs funded by USAID will intensify their material and technical support to the spring campaign, which accounts for 50 to 60 per cent of the national agricultural production. Preparations are underway in some mountain areas of the Departments of Grande Anse, Nord-Est and Nippes. More than 1,000 tons of seeds will be distributed to farmers and fertilizers will be made available at subsidized prices, says the report.

In brief

UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner, Ms. Janet Lim, visited Haiti from 23 to 24 March. She stressed the importance of legislative and administrative reforms of the Civil Registry, which will allow Haitians to obtain personal identification documents free of charge. She also urged the Haitian Government to follow up on the pledge made during the Ministerial Conference in Geneva last December 2011 to ratify the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. In 2011, UNHCR and implementing partners provided 5,542 birth certificates to vulnerable displaced persons living in the most affected parts of the country. More than 300 persons benefited from UNHCR protection activities from sexual violence.

The Alliance Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools was launched on 20 March by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training(MENFP) in partnership with DINEPA and UNICEF. The Alliance will conduct an assessment of the situation in schools and develop guidelines and national standards. The steering committee consists of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), PAHO / WHO, UNESCO, Save the Children, Plan Haiti, WFP, FONHEP, Oxfam Quebec and Caritas-Switzerland.

From 5 to 8 March, the Communication Pool in Emergency Situations organized training sessions on communication in time of crisis. It aimed to strengthen the capacities of its members and train newly nominated departmental delegates. The Communication Pool is part of the National System for Disaster Risk Management (SNGRD) and is responsible for the management of the government´s communication during an emergency.

Four hundred houses were inaugurated by the Haitian Government on February 27 as part of the "400/100" project which aims to relocate families affected by the earthquake in 400 houses in 100 days. The project received funding from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for a total amount of US$ 30 million.

Following the closure of its Jacmel sub-office last December, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) closed its Léogâne sub-office at the end of March as part of the organization´s phasing down strategy. OCHA notes that local authorities have stronger capacities to respond to residual needs in the area. The Office will maintain its coordination support at the national and departmental levels from its Port-au-Prince office and Gonaïves sub-office.

The rehabilitation of the road Charlemagne Peralte, which is part of the "16/6" project, officially began on March 26 and is expected to be completed on 15 May. The “16/6” project is an initiative of the Government of Haiti which aims to provide an integrated response to the closure of six camps and the resettlement of displaced persons in sixteen neighborhoods. It is funded by the Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti (FRH) and is implemented by the Government of Haiti through the Housing Construction and Public Buildings Unit (UCLBP) as well as UNDP, IOM, UNOPS and ILO.