Haitian Earthquake Relief Efforts: Caribbean Perspective (Update #2)

In the ten (10) days since the 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti on last Tuesday, over:

• 121 people have been rescued from collapsed buildings

• 75,000 Haitians who died as a result of the earthquake, have been buried in mass graves.

  
  

  Donor organizations have estimated that over 100,000 have died. The death tool is predicted to increase as many more Haitians will die, due to lack of medical attention




• US $1.2 billion have been given in aid money

• Sporadic looting is still occurring

• Haitians are being asked to be on the lookout for Haitian prisoners who've escaped. They are said to be very dangerous

• Although food is getting through to more of those in need, increased security is preventing its effective distribution.

In a Press Release on Monday, January 18,2010, the Cuban Embassy here in Jamaica, reported that a Cuban medical team has been inside Haiti, giving humanitarian support for over the past ten (10) years.

Jamaican doctors in Haiti, under secondment from the Jamaican Ministry of Health, will be on a 5-day rotation so as not to negatively affect their presence in Jamaican public hospitals, which are under-staffed.

Other doctors from Caricom will join them on the weekend.

[This picture below (provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is that of Haitian earthquake survivors resting in a makeshift shelter].

 

Caricom (the Caribbean Community) will lead multinational donors on a strategic committee formed to reconstruct Haiti. The committee is to be headed by former Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson.

...Their first strategy meeting will be held in Canada, next Monday, January 25,2010.

All Jamaican aid to Haiti (including money) will be distributed through the ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management).

[I would like to thank:

1. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), for the use of their inset Flickr photo above of a young man doing search-and-rescue work in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince

2. The United Nations for the use of their Flickr photo entitled, "Survivors of Haiti Quake Rest in Makeshift Shelter"].

Gillian

Sources Include

1) Power 106 FM News at 12:00 p.m., January 22,2010

2) Article, "Aid for Haiti Earthquake Victims Finally Getting Through" by Gil Kaufman, MTV News, January 21,2010

3) Article, "CARICOM Names Former Jamaica Prime Minister, PJ Patterson to Haiti Reconstruction Meeting Team", via CaribbeanPressReleases.com,January 20,2010

4) Nationwide Radio's "Cover Story", January 18,2010