Haiti: Hurricane Matthew – Situation Report No. 21 (11 November 2016)

This report is produced by OCHA in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by the Hurricane Matthew Emergency Response Team and covers the period from 9 to 11 November 2016. The next report will be issued on 15 November. Sign up to receive reports of the Emergency Response Team: http://eepurl.com/Kyey5.

For an interactive 3W: https://data.humdata.org/organization/ocha-haiti For detailed sectoral 3Ws: https://goo.gl/Xc9Gn

Main Points

• Displaced families temporarily sheltered in schools have come under increased pressure by local authorities to vacate the premises to allow for the resumption of schooling. Two schools were emptied in Les Cayes.

• The cholera vaccination campaign targeting 820,000 people in 16 communes in Grand’Anse and Sud started on 8 November and will last for a week.

• Some 465,565 people have received food assistance since the hurricane stroke, equating to 58 per cent of the 806,000 who are at extreme food insecurity.

• An increase in malaria suspected cases has been observed over the last few days in Les Cayes, Les Anglais, Port-à-Piment and PortSalut, Abricots, Jérémie, Roseaux, Anse d’Hainault, Dame Marie, and Corail.

1.4 million
People need assistance
Source: Government and UN

436,322
Boys and girls affected (ages 15 to 24)
Source: UNFPA

894,057
Children affected
Source: Government and UN

5,840
Cholera cases suspected (up to 5 November)
Source: Government and UN

Situation Overview

Hurricane Matthew has displaced an estimated 175,509 people, most of whom are now living in some 307 temporary shelters, including 86 schools. Education has been disrupted as a result. UNICEF estimates 150,000 children are out of school either because they are displaced themselves or because their schools have been destroyed, damaged, or are occupied by other displaced families.

This week, both students and their parents have increasingly voiced their anger that children, whose schools are used for shelter, might fall behind or even lose an academic year. Demonstrations took place in Les Cayes and Jérémie. In addition, some schools had been scheduled to be used as polling stations for the upcoming 20 November elections, putting pressure on authorities to accelerate returns.
Local authorities in Les Cayes took steps to start emptying three schools. Reports of evictions in other towns could not be confirmed.

Humanitarian partners have agreed that, where feasible, assistance should be distributed in areas and communities of return rather than at the temporary shelters.

There are serious protection concerns as some highly vulnerable people – due to their age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or a combination of factors – have been identified in some of the schools. The vulnerable people also include separated and unaccompanied children, single mothers, or singleheaded households, pregnant or lactating women and girls, families at risk of separation, and people with chronic illnesses. Psychosocial distress and lack of privacy in these temporary shelters, which are often overcrowded and lack electricity, water, sanitation, and hygiene, create a situation in which girls and boys face exploitation, abuse, aggression, and sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).

According to IOM figures on the shelters and displacements assessed so far, an estimated 78 per cent of the displaced people owned their home while 22 per cent were tenants before they were affected by the hurricane. Some 52 per cent of the people stated that their homes were entirely destroyed, 38 per cent severed damaged, and 9 per cent somewhat damaged.

In a very short time, Hurricane Matthew also doubled the number of suspected cholera cases in Haiti. According to WHO/PAHO, the figure increased from 2,377 in September to a staggering 4,985 cases by October, and 5,840 by 5 November. The deterioration has been felt more strongly in the departments of Grand’Anse and Sud, where the hurricane hit the hardest. This change represents a drastic jump from 100 cases per month in the first nine months of 2016 to more than 1,200 cases in October. Partners specialized in rapid response to cholera, however, remain optimistic and are working hard to contain the outbreak. To this effect, a cholera vaccination campaign was launched on 08 November by the Ministry of Public Health in les Cayes and Jérémie, with support from humanitarian partners. By mid-November, over 820,000 people will be vaccinated throughout 16 communes in Grand’Anse and Sud.

The delivery of humanitarian assistance continues to be met with tension, either during distribution or in areas that are yet to receive assistance. Looting of trucks transporting humanitarian supplies has been frequent. Tensions could be exacerbated in the run up to the upcoming elections as the delivery of assistance is expected to slow down. This is due to the anticipated reassignment of security forces from escorting humanitarian convoys to securing polling stations.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA’s activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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