2014 Haiti Snapshot

A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.

Prepared By: Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage .

2014 Haiti Snapshot Prepared By Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage / A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.

Haiti 2014 Snap Shot

OverviewAn estimated three million Haitians have both chronic and acute humanitarian needs, and are facing displacement, food insecurity, and malnutrition. Haiti’s political and economic situation is extremely fragile, and the country is vulnerable to natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, landslides, and droughts. The resilience of the population is extremely low.

Key Concerns- Ongoing severe dryness, particularly in the southern peninsula and the Central Plateau, and below-average rainfall through December, has resulted in the second consecutive below-average harvest and is likely to increase food insecurity (FEWSNET, 28/10/2014).

- Despite a progressive decrease of cholera cases since January, weekly cases have significantly increased since the rainy season mid-September (PAHO, 02/12/2014).

- 800,000 people rely on humanitarian assistance in 2014 (UN, 27/10/2014).

- 85,430 IDPs (22,741 households) remain in 123 camps as of September as a result of the 2010 earthquake (OCHA, 04/10/2014).

- The resilience of the population and its capacity to cope with new crises are generally weak.

Political Context

On 23 September, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said that elections will be held no later than early 2015, more than three years behind schedule (ABC News, 23/09/2014).

The indefinite postponement of parliamentary and local elections since 2011 has contributed to a polarized political climate. While the UN stabilization mission, MINUSTAH, maintains police in regions, the Haitian National Police are not yet fully capable of dealing with civil unrest (OCHA, 31/07/2014).

Humanitarian Context and Needs

So far in 2014, 800,000 people are relying on international humanitarian assistance (UN, 27/10/2014).

Disasters

36,270 Haitians have been affected after heavy floods hit northern and western departments between 31 October and 6 November. 6,000 were evacuated to temporary shelters – including in Cap Haitian and Fort Liberté. Five people were killed and 14,000 houses damaged (IOM, 11/11/2014; local media, 07/11/2014).

2014 Haiti Snapshot Prepared By Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage / A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.

2014 Haiti Snapshot Prepared By Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage / A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti. 1

Displacement / IDPs

85,430 IDPs (22,741 households) remain in 123 camps as of September as a result of the 2010 earthquake, a 17.5% decrease on June numbers (OCHA, 04/10/2014). Delmas (38%), Port-au-Prince (27%) and Croix-des-Bouquets (10%) account for 75% of displaced households (CCCM, 08/10/2014). Port-au-Prince has the highest number of IDP sites (37% of sites), followed by Delmas and Carrefour (IOM 07/07/2014). Priority needs include the provision of minimum basic services, protection monitoring and response, and promotion of durable solutions (OCHA, 03/11/2014).

Population numbers in open camps have grown over the first six months of 2014, as other camps have closed, and insecurity elsewhere has grown (OHCHR, MINUSTAH, Protection Cluster, 30/06/2014).

Basic services in camps have declined faster than the pace of return or relocation. Only one-third of camps have access to water and access to healthcare is problematic due to lack of infrastructure and funding (OCHA, 31/07/2014).

Returnees

As of October, 1,448 Haitians in the Dominican Republic had been forced to return to their home country (local organization, 15/10/2014).

Food Security

As of July, 2.6 million Haitians continue to be affected by food insecurity, including 200,000 severely food insecure (OCHA, 20/08/2014).

In October, populations in Artibonite, Nord-Ouest, Sud-Est, and Nippes departments faced Stressed (IPC Phase 2) food security levels (OCHA, 04/10/2014). Parts of Sud, Sud-Est, and Nippes departments are likely to enter Crisis (IPC Phase 3) by March 2015 (FEWSNET, 18/11/2014).

Below-average food stocks due to the prolonged drought are expected to result in higher food prices between March and April 2015 (AlterPress, 21/10/2014).

El Niño over October–December could lead to 15,000 more people suffering from acute food insecurity (OCHA, 04/10/2014).

Agricultural Outlook

Heavy rainfall at the beginning of November affected agricultural output, with 62% and 29% losses in breeding production in the north and northeast, respectively. The North and Nippes also saw 76% and 18% livestock losses (Government, 20/11/2014).

Severe dryness persists, particularly in the southern peninsula and the Central Plateau, with below-average rainfall forecast through December (FEWSNET, 28/10/2014). Drought during January–March led to a 30% loss of seasonal harvests (OCHA, 04/10/2014). Drought since May has affected the spring and autumn agricultural seasons, suggesting that the 2014/15 crop production is likely to be significantly below average (FEWSNET, 18/11/14).

Health and Nutrition

Five million Haitians (half of the total population) lack access to basic health services (UN, 27/10/2014).

2014 Haiti Snapshot Prepared By Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage / A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.

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Chikungunya

As of October, 65,000 suspected cases of chikungunya have been reported since the outbreak began in May (IFRC, 10/10/2014).

Cholera

At 31 October, 14,869 suspected cases of cholera and 132 deaths had been recorded in 2014, a 69% decrease compared to the same period in 2013 (UN, 27/11/2014). Weekly reported cases have been rising since the rainy season began in mid-September, to 918, compared to 250–290 between January and September. The departments of Artibonite, Centre, Ouest, and Nord are most affected (PAHO, 02/12/2014). Daily cases observed in Port-au-Prince have nearly doubled, due to the reduced number of dedicated centres, increase in rainfall activity, and below-average hygiene conditions (local media, 17/11/2014).

Overall, nearly 717,203 suspected cholera cases and 8,721 deaths have been reported by the Ministry of Health since the start of the epidemic in October 2010 (PAHO, 02/12/2014).

Nutrition

100,000 children under five suffer acute malnutrition, 20,000 of whom are severely malnourished. Ten communes have above 10% GAM (OCHA, 20/08/2014).

Malnutrition rates in IDP camps are of great concern. At May, GAM rates within 20 camps stood at 12.5% (OCHA, 20/08/2014).

W.A.S.H.

More than 3.4 million Haitians lack access to safe water (one-third of the total population and 47% of the rural population) (UN, 30/09/2014). 38% do not have access to improved water sources and 69% lack access to improved sanitation (World Bank, 30/09/2014). As of June, 50% of camps lack adequate sanitation facilities; only one-third have a water point. 60% of schools have no toilets and more than three-quarters lack access to water (HRW, 08/10/2014).

Waterborne diseases are one of the main causes of infant mortality (World Bank, 09/10/2014).

Shelter

94% of people left homeless by the 2010 earthquake have been relocated outside camps but their living conditions are poorer than before the earthquake (UN, 27/10/2014). IDPs living in informal settlements are at risk of eviction (OCHA, 20/08/2014).

Education

17% of IDPs in camps surveyed in 2014 have not received any education (OHCHR, MINUSTAH and Protection Cluster, 30/06/2014).

2014 Haiti Snapshot Prepared By Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage / A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.

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Protection

5,966 IDP families are at risk of eviction from camps, most of them not targeted by any return programme (OCHA, 25/11/2014).

The number of rapes reported in the first half of 2014 is double that of the same period in 2013. More than two-thirds of the rapes reported involved minors (OHCHR and Protection Cluster, 30/06/2014).

Gender-based violence continues to be of great concern in IDP camps, where most cases of sexual aggression are reported among women (OHCHR, MINUSTAH and Protection Cluster, 30/06/2014).

Citations & Sources:

FEWSNET, 28/10/2014, UN, 27/10/2014, PAHO, 02/12/2014,OCHA, 04/10/2014, ABC News, 23/09/2014, OCHA, 31/07/2014, IOM, 11/11/2014, IFRC, 10/10/2014 , OHCHR, MINUSTAH and Protection Cluster, 30/06/2014.

2014 Haiti Snapshot Prepared By Stephanie ( Forster ) Limage / A Brief Overview On The Current Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.

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