Third year commemoration of the Haiti earthquake: Highlights of EU support to the country European Commission Development and Cooperation EuropeAid Website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid Contacts : Alexandre Polack +32 2 296 99 21 Wojtek Talko +32 2 297 85 51 Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, ECHO Website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo Contacts: Irina Novakova +32 2 295 75 17 David Sharrock +32 2 296 89 09 Children have been among the main beneficiaries of European humanitarian aid, through basic services like food aid, health care, safe water, sanitation and shelter. Photo: Vicente Raimundo A prompt and decisive response to the earthquake EU Aid: Helping one Haitian out of every two On 12 January 2010, Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake that took 222,750 people's lives, injured many thousands and made 1.7 million homeless. Since day one, the European Union has been fully mobilised to respond to the needs of the Haitian population, providing both immediate humanitarian relief on a massive scale, and development aid. To this day, EU action has benefitted one Haitian in every two; saving lives, providing shelter, food and health services, rebuilding roads, schools and hospitals and supporting the Haitian authorities in the reconstruction process. Besides responding to the post-earthquake humanitarian crisis, the European Union has continued to provide cooperation aid to Haiti aimed at eradicating poverty, improving living standards and encouraging long-term socio-economic development. Since 2010, the EU has committed 540 million for financing projects in a number of priority areas, such as supporting the State's budget, road infrastructure rehabilitation, agriculture, education, human rights, food security, electoral assistance and support to trade. President Martelly and the new Haitian government led by Prime minister Lamothe have initiated important political and administrative reforms essential for the consolidation of democracy, socio-economic recovery and more effective use of international aid. The EU has Page 1 of 6
welcomed these efforts and declared its readiness for supporting the reform process in the context of existing EU programmes and instruments. In parallel with providing humanitarian and development aid, the EU and Haiti are engaged in a regular political dialogue aimed at advancing democracy, human rights, the rule of law, security and regional cooperation. The visit of President Martelly to the EU Institutions on 19/20 November 2012 was an occasion to further strengthen this dialogue. Our humanitarian actions The EU's humanitarian response to the earthquake has continued throughout 2011 and 2012, addressing the prevalent humanitarian needs. Total humanitarian aid to Haiti 2011-2012 has now reached 72.75 million. ECHO's main areas of work have been: - facilitating the return of those still displaced; - ensuring treatment for cholera patients and reinforce the Haitian health institutions to enable them to cope with the disease, as well as focusing on prevention, with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene activities, including treatment facilities, and the promotion of hygiene activities, benefitting around 3 million people; - working on Disaster Risk Reduction and preparedness of communities and institutions to better face natural hazards. Additional aid has been given following extensive damage caused by Tropical Storm Isaac in August 2012 ( 3 million) and Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 ( 6 million). Close up: Building resilience in preparation of future shocks The earthquake of 2010 has demonstrated the vital need to make communities and key institutions more resilient to future disasters. In 2011-2012, the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) carried out disaster preparedness activities benefitting 1.3 million people in the country, and helping the Haitian civil protection services to better prepare for emergencies. Emphasis is put on preparedness for natural hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, floods). The projects have promoted the strengthening of local brigades in the rural areas, or small scale work on infrastructure to reduce risks (e.g. reinforcing dams and dikes to avoid rivers from bursting their banks). At the same time, awareness raising campaigns and activities have taken place in schools. Disaster educational material for schools were previously not available in Creole, for example, so this has now been translated and adapted, and this training has had a clear impact in making sure that children are better prepared for any future risks. ECHO-funded projects have also empowered the local authorities in charge of responding to disasters. Emergency teams at community level, for example, now have better means to Page 2 of 6
provide first aid, evacuations and inform about the needs of the community to other administrative levels. In the displaced persons camps in Port-au-Prince, disaster preparedness projects have helped to organise communities, and volunteer committees are now trained to take a lead during emergencies and map areas of higher risk within the camps. In addition, a European development programme worth 14.5 million has been implemented to strengthen the authorities' disaster risk management. The project has provided all 140 communes of the country with rescue and emergency equipment. Meanwhile, 3,000 volunteers were trained to use this equipment in order to provide assistance in case of natural disasters. The National Emergency Operations Centre (COUN) has been equipped with high-tech devices (such as computers, a video wall, a video conference equipment, specialised software ) which are instrumental in improving future relief operations. Local authorities also benefitted from tailor made training on crisis communication. Providing immediate relief and building the future Project Close up: Providing urgent humanitarian aid to the victims of the earthquake The earthquake destroyed 105,000 homes and damaged 208,000 houses, leaving more than 1.7 million people homeless. Immediately afterwards, the European Commission helped provide shelter for 1.5 million people and essential non-food items such as jerry cans, blankets, kitchen sets, and mosquito nets. As makeshift camps sprung up, the Commission through its partners also helped to manage them planning and organising sites and collecting data for protection purposes. Close up: helping 1.5 million displaced people to leave the camps The EU has assisted Internally Displaced people to leave camps through rental payment, house repair and support to income generating activities helping people to make a living, while at the same time upgrading basic living conditions in neighbourhoods and remaining camps. In a nutshell, the temporary shelter and housing programmes implemented with support of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) include: - Helping people living in camps to return to undamaged or repaired houses; in their areas of origin or a place of their choice; - Establishing access to water and primary health care to encourage displaced population to find permanent housing solutions back in the neighbourhoods; - Building transitional shelters (T-shelters) that later can be reinforced with concrete to become a permanent housing solution. Page 3 of 6
To this day, significant progress has been made to house the people displaced by the January 2010 earthquake and living in precarious conditions. The number of Internally Displaced people is currently estimated at 357,000, which is still high, but nevertheless reflects a considerable effort on the part of the authorities. The civil protection has shown improvements in efficiency as demonstrated by their level of readiness in the wake of hurricanes Sandy and Isaac. From the emergency response to a long term solution The EU strives for ensuring an efficient transition between emergency/humanitarian response and more structural development assistance (LRRD approach: Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development). A sustainable housing programme, with the aim of rehabilitating damaged houses and providing basic urban services in informal neighbourhoods, thus facilitating the return of people displaced by the earthquake is being implemented. This programme is carried out in cooperation with the AFD (French Agency for Development) and aims not only to renovate houses but to revitalise and redevelop entire neighbourhoods, by building the infrastructure necessary to provide the population with essential services lacking before the earthquake, such as water, rubbish collection, electricity or access to basic health care. The objective is to improve the living conditions of nearly 500,000 people in Port au Prince. Food security represents another sector where an LRRD approach is being adopted. Under different EU instruments such as the Food Facility, the Food Security Thematic Programme and the MDG initiative, funds have also been allocated for following up on emergency assistance for improving long-term food security and nutrition. Meanwhile, the European Union has supported other projects essential to the development of the country for a long time. Since 2010 alone, the EU has committed around 540 million for initiatives towards Haiti's reconstruction and development that cover road infrastructure, agriculture, human rights, food security, elections assistance or support to trade. Close up: Supporting economic recovery and agriculture with the reconstruction of the main roads; Road infrastructure represents 37% of the EU's overall assistance to Haiti ( 145 million, i.e 24.2 million per year over 2008-2013). In 2013, the European Commission expects to invest a further 70 million in Haitian roads. Road projects on this scale improve economic prospects, and reduce poverty as a result, enabling local businesses to get their goods (like agricultural goods such as seeds and fertilizes) across the country in a better condition and access markets that would otherwise be unavailable to them. One of the biggest challenges to the relief effort after the earthquake was the poor state of Haitian roads. Decades of deterioration (in 2004, only 5% of the country s roads were judged to be in a good condition) meant that it was very hard to get aid across the country to where it was needed and to improve food security. With the support of the European Union, the primary road network shall soon be rehabilitated and sustainable road maintenance policies be in place. The 200km road between Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitian (Haiti s second largest city) funded by the EU is a crucial link between the north and south of the country. In January 2010, the Page 4 of 6
journey between the cities took eight hours. This travelling time will eventually be reduced to just three hours. The first section of the road (between Port-au-Prince and Mirebalais) has already been completed, which has led to a 200% increase in the number of people and commercial vehicles travelling between the two cities. Rehabilitation of the next section from Mirebalais to the city of Hinche has been achieved and inaugurated by Commissioner Piebalgs during his official visit in Haiti in March 2012. Although the reconstruction and development is a slow process, some positive elements need to be highlighted, like the efforts carried out by the government to boost industrial activities and investments. This translates also into the recovery of economic growth, which is estimated at around 6-7% for the year 2012, also reflecting the commitment of the country to take full ownership of its future. Close up: Building schools and training teachers Over the last five years, the EU has supported a 38 million programme (PARQE) for improving the quality of public primary education in Haiti. The objective was to increase the number of schools, the quality of the facilities and the training of teachers. Under this programme, the EU has contributed to the establishment of 17 educational support centres (EFACAPs: "Ecoles fondamentales d application/centres d appui pédagogique) which provide training and pedagogic assistance to primary and vocational education teachers. Moreover, this programme has funded the rehabilitation of 77 schools and the creation of 81 new classrooms. Around 7,000 teachers received training across the country and at least 120,000 children have benefitted from the overall project. Spain and France have implemented complementary measures under their national cooperation programmes. Background: The EU's overall financial assistance to Haiti Haiti has long been a partner of the European Union. Even prior to the earthquake in 2010, the European Union was already providing substantial assistance to the country. At the International Donor Conference of 31 March 2010 in New York, the Government presented a strategy for post-earthquake reconstruction and development to the international community. Donors pledged a total of $9.8 billion for medium and long-term reconstruction. The EU made a single pledge amounting to 1.2 billion, pooling contributions from the European Commission, 18 EU Member States and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EC's contribution to this pledge was 522m. 85% (or 440 million) of the 522 million funds promised by the European Commission in 2010 have been committed and additional funding has been made available to address the needs of the population. Page 5 of 6
In addition, the EU's humanitarian response to the earthquake has continued throughout 2011 and 2012, addressing the prevalent humanitarian needs. Total humanitarian aid to Haiti 2011-2012 has now reached 72.75 million, with an additional 15 million being allocated to the country in 2013 for humanitarian actions. The European Commission has also mobilised 46.5 million for a programme that aims to rebuild homes to allow displaced people to return to their neighbourhoods. Important allocations are also earmarked for Food Security and Agriculture, under different instruments such as the Food Facility, the Food Security Thematic Programme and the MDG initiative. Haiti is also the largest beneficiary of the European Commission's humanitarian aid in Latin America and the Caribbean, with over 260 million in humanitarian aid since 1995. In 2010, ECHO allocated 122 million to provide assistance to the victims of the earthquake and the cholera epidemic. In addition to this, funds from already on-going programs totalling 8.5 million were redirected to be used in the earthquake response. Moreover, the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism provided support for the coordination of the Member States' civil protection assistance: 25 European countries were involved in the relief effort and channelled their assistance through the Mechanism. In 2011 and 2012, over 72.75 million were granted to Haiti, with assistance addressing displacement and cholera response, and reducing the risk of disasters. In 2013, ECHO will continue to stand by the most vulnerable Haitians who require immediate assistance with an initial budget of 15 million. For Further Information: For more on DG EuropeAid: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid For more on DG ECHO: http://ec.europa.eu/echo For more on DG ECHO's work in Haiti: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/aid/caribbean_pacific/haiti_en.htm To find out more about our work in Haiti: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/haiti/index_fr.htm Page 6 of 6