Haiti still in crisis phase one year on

By Louisa Emery on January 12, 2011 2:07 PM |

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It is no surprise to Doctors Of The World UK director, Susan Wright, that a year after the earthquake devastated Haiti, the international aid organisation still has a significant staff in the country - it is the fact they are still in the emergency phase that she finds unacceptable.

A quarter of a million people lost their lives on January 12, 2010, 300,000 were injured and 1.3million made homeless.

Susan said: "The Haiti earthquake was very different from major disasters such as the
Tsunami and Chilean earthquake because those countries were nowhere near as volatile as Haiti.

"Haiti's struggling health service and unstable government was a recipe for disaster.

"The country was sitting on the brink and the earthquake toppled it."

The Canary Wharf based office is part of the French Medecins Du Monde network and provides medical care and advocacy to vulnerable people. They have had a presence in Haiti since 1989.

Susan said: "We were in a better situation than a lot of non-government organisations - we went in from the Dominican Republic and moved in by land rather than air because we know the region really well."

Some 1,268 DoW members, 95 per cent Haitians are focusing their efforts on pregnant woman and children, psychological treatment and day to day health care including fighting the cholera epidemic.

Susan said: "Cholera is unbelievably easy to treat and part of the tragedy is that once the epidemic hits people don't come forward. They see it as a death sentence."

In March 2010 the international donor conference of the UN in New York pledged 10 billion dollars to the reconstruction of Haiti. To date only a few hundred million has been paid out.

Susan said: "It is a positive thing that the world's eyes will be on Haiti again this week - promises that have been made and haven't been kept will be highlighted.
"We can't do it alone, it is a finger in the dam situation."

What people can do, according to Doctors Of The World:
Support financially the organisations you have faith in - those that know the region and have a commitment.
Write to MPs and the Secretary of State for International Development.