UN, partners coordinate with Haiti gov't in delivering earthquake aid
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E-mail Xinhua, August 18, 2021
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations, its partners and the Haitian government are cooperating in the distribution of emergency aid to victims of the earthquake, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
Relief organizations first had to negotiate with gangs controlling much of the hardest-hit southwest peninsula area before UN and government convoys could deliver aid on Sunday and Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Additional convoys will follow, the office said. "Access is very complex due to the gangs that control the road and vast parts of the country."
The UN Humanitarian Air Service is delivering supplies and medical staff, the office said. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is setting up centers in Les Cayes and Jeremie to coordinate the international response.
It said efforts are also under way to mobilize additional national health specialists from other parts of the country.
"Of particular concern is the dire health situation, as several hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, while those still operating are completely overwhelmed, lacking sufficient personnel and medical supplies," it said.
The Haitian Civil Protection Directorate said more than 1,400 people are confirmed dead and more than 6,900 others injured as of Tuesday, with hundreds more still missing. The earthquake destroyed more than 37,000 homes and 46,000 sustained damage, leaving thousands of people homeless and generating pressing shelter, health, water, sanitation and hygiene needs.
The United Nations on Sunday released 8 million U.S. dollars emergency funds to help kick-start relief efforts in health care, clean water, emergency shelter and sanitation. The 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the world body stands in solidarity with the people of Haiti at this difficult time.
"We will continue to scale up our response to the hardest-hit areas even as Tropical Storm Grace approaches Haiti with its threat of heavy rainfall and flash floods," he said in a statement.
Tropical Storm Grace, weakening into a depression, threatened to dump more than 25 cm of rain over the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, potentially triggering flash floods that could complicate humanitarian response efforts, OCHA said. Enditem
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