In Jérémie, Haiti, children play at the Église Chrétienne Nan Lindy. Hundreds of people have sought temporary shelter at the church after countless homes were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. Photo: UNICEF/UN035877/LeMoyne

7 February 2017 – The United Nations together with relief organizations in Haiti have launched a two-year, $291 million response plan with the Government to reach more than 2.4 million people across the island that was struck by a devastating hurricane last October.

“With more than 98 per cent of Haitians exposed to two or more types of disasters, and over half of its population living in poverty, Hurricane Matthew has once more demonstrated Haiti’s weakened ability to cope, recover and adapt to shocks from natural disasters,” noted Mourad Wahba, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, in the plan’s foreword.

The two-year Haiti Humanitarian Response Plan. launched yesterday, is built on lessons learnt that the island that the transition from a relief-focused type of operation – like one that follows a disaster like an the earthquake – to a longer-term development approach in fragile countries should be seen as a convergence process rather than sequential since the humanitarian and development needs occur simultaneously.

According to estimates undertaken by the Humanitarian Country Team, some 2.7 million Haitians will require humanitarian, protection or early recovery assistance in 2017, of which 2.4 million will be targeted countrywide. The October hurricane severely exasperated pre-existing humanitarian, socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities and disparities.

Under the plan, humanitarian interventions with a focus on improving access to lifesaving services to those affected by Hurricane Matthew, cholera, and other diseases, as well as on protecting the most vulnerable will be scaled up.

At the same time, actions to promote resilience and access to durable solutions will be implemented, targeting those displaced due to the 2010 earthquake, Hurricane Matthew, as well as those repatriated or voluntarily returned from neighbouring Dominican Republic.

Also, the Humanitarian Country Team will continue to support Government-led efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness and response at the national and decentralized levels.

The specific objectives include:

• Strengthening affected population’s resilience through timely life-saving assistance, improved access to basic services and immediate livelihood restoration;
• Ensuring a rapid and effective response to cholera outbreaks and other waterborne diseases;
• Ensuring protection and promotion of the achievement of durable solutions for persons coming back from the Dominican Republic, those displaced still living in camps and people affected by Hurricane Matthew; and
• Strengthening the humanitarian-development nexus and supporting local emergency preparedness and response capacity.