USAID gives itself an A while Haitians die. The USAID released a report that claims humanitarian AID has met the needs of the earthquake survivors. I am speechless. Finally a short diary.
According to USAID's fact sheet humanitarian efforts met the immediate needs of earthquake #Haiti populations by providing safe drinking water-- 19 dead water suspect
USAID Fact sheet (PDF)
During the months following the earthquake, humanitarian efforts met the immediate needs of earthquake-affected populations by providing safe drinking water, food, household items, shelter assistance, sanitation facilities, and health services. USAID continues to work closely with other USG agencies, the GoH, international organizations, the U.N., and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to coordinate ongoing efforts and facilitate the transition from emergency relief activities to recovery operations, while preparing to respond to potential further deterioration in humanitarian conditions during the rainy and hurricane seasons.
Recent report by IJDH found that 40% of IDP families interviewed primarily drank untreated water.
“We’ve Been Forgotten”: Conditions in Haiti’s Displacement Camps Eight Months After the Earthquake (IJDH)
Right to Clean Water. 44% of families primarily drank untreated water
UPDATE: Haiti diarrhoea outbreak kills 50
"We have registered 51 or 52 deaths along the Artibonite river which crosses the centre and north of the country," doctor Arial Henry, director of the health minister's office, said.
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"Some people died in their homes in the Artibonite region and in central Haiti and several hundreds have been hospitalised and are under being monitored," another official added.
UPDATE 2: Diarrhea outbreak kills nearly 50 in central Haiti
21 Oct 2010 17:20:41 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Exact cause not yet determined, samples being analyzed
* Victims from central region north of quake-hit capital
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - An outbreak of severe diarrhea in central Haiti has killed nearly 50 people in recent days and more than 450 have been hospitalized, a senior Haitian health official said on Thursday.
Health Department Director General Dr. Gabriel Thimote told Reuters that sick patients were overwhelming hospitals in the country's Artibonite and the Central Plateau regions, north of the capital Port-au-Prince. Haitian authorities had contacted the World Health Organization, he added.
Many of the 49 victims died in a matter of hours from dehydration as they tried to reach a hospital, Thimote said. He said samples taken from the dead and sick were being urgently analyzed in a laboratory to determine exactly what caused the diarrhea.
according to twitter JUST Twitter not sure if true
tidocchandler
Name Jerry Chandler
Location ÜT: 19.495207,-75.898629
Web http://www.techtr...
Bio Staff Surgeon Hopital Universitaire de La Paix
@AtinnAnie : Apparently the #outbreak in #Artibonite seems to be #cholera from sources in #who and #haiti (cont) http://tl.gd/...
9 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter
UPDATE: 3 Cholera confirmed. This is sad
Lab tests confirm that #Haiti outbreak in #Artibonite is Cholera! http://bit.ly/...
Cholera outbreak behind Haiti deaths: health official
(AFP) – 1 hour ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE — An outbreak of cholera was to blame for dozens of deaths in Haiti in recent days, a health official said Thursday.
"The first results from the lab tests show that there is cholera, but we don't know which type," an official from the public health ministry told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.
"The government and the health authorities are meeting at the moment and an announcement will be made," he added.
Health officials said earlier that at least 50 people had died from acute diarrhea and hundreds were being treated in local hospitals as laboratory tests were carried out to determine the cause of the illness.
UPDATE: 4 Death toll 135 according to person on twitter and article is in French or Creole. Can't find article with update in English yet.
HaitiLibre
Haiti - ALERT: Outbreak, the death toll mounts, 135 deads, 1.498 infected - http://haitilibre.com/...
1 minute ago via Haitilibre.co
http://twitpic.com/...
Renewal4Haiti
RT Haitian doctors already helping: Lamothe: 3455-7529, Hyppolite: 3702-8522, Dr Jo: 3486-9738, Gladys Thomas: 3401-1781 #Haiti #outbreak
2 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone
Reply Retweet
MC4Haiti2015
RT @carelpedre: 3 cases in a highly rated beach hotel right near St. Marc were identified. It's spreading #cholera #Haiti
UN, Haitian officials investigate possible disease outbreak in rural Haiti
Haitian government officials say at least 19 people have died after suffering brief bouts of fever, vomiting and severe diarrhea, with dozens of more deaths suspected. Most are reportedly children.
Hundreds of patients reporting those symptoms have overwhelmed a hospital in the seaside town of St. Marc, some 45 miles (about 70 kilometres) north of the capital of Port-au-Prince, Catherine Huck, country deputy for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told The Associated Press.
USAID Fact sheet (PFF)
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
October 15, 2010
On October 15, a delivery of 1,000 rolls of USAID/OFDA plastic sheeting, as well as 6,000 USAID/OFDA blankets and water containers, arrived in Port-au-Prince to supplement emergency relief supplies already prepositioned in Haiti in preparation for potential hurricane season needs. The new plastic sheeting is sufficient to meet the emergency shelter needs of an estimated 5,000 beneficiaries. The delivery brings additional USAID/OFDA relief supplies—comprising blankets, water containers, hygiene kits, and kitchen sets— prepositioned throughout Haiti to a level ample to benefit 100,000 individuals.
As of October 12, international humanitarian agencies had constructed nearly 17,400 transitional shelters (t- shelters), including 7,444 completed by USAID/OFDA grantees, representing nearly 43 percent of the total completed t-shelters.
Earthquake Stricken Haitians Victimized by World Indifference
-- 75% had someone in the family "go an entire day without eating in the past week," and over half said their children hadn't eaten for an entire day;
-- "44% of families primarily drank untreated water," meaning they ingested toxins likely to cause illness or death;
-- "27% of families defecated in a container, a plastic bag, or on open ground in the camps," because sanitation conditions are appalling;
-- "78% of families lived without enclosed shelter;"
-- among 45 families alone, 245 health problems were identified;
-- "94% of families felt they could not return home while 48% had been threatened with forced eviction...." and
-- over one-third of families had no job or source of income.
Study findings also determined that even meager "aid has slowed and even stopped in each of the six camps surveyed," suggesting all of them face the same problem "living (under) conditions (that) continue to violate basic human dignity."
Sources We Like |
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Global Exchange
Konstitisyon se papie, bayonet se fe
(The constitution is paper, bayonets are steel)
"IJDH has changed the way Haitian human rights are viewed, and is helping other organizations to improve their understanding of the noxious synergy between poverty, inequality, and injustice; IJDH has also restored historical memory to a notoriously short-memoried arena. IJDH has been a voice of reason and honesty in the midst of an international attack on popular democracy in Haiti."
— Paul Farmer, Co-Founder, Partners in Health
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Join us Sunday's for book day : Current book is Damming The Flood: Haiti, Aristide, And The Politics Of Containment, by Peter Hallward: Chapter 9 Pt 2: |
- Any suggestions? We are looking for books, articles, websites where we can get accurate information about Haiti. Please share any information.
- I found one The World Traveler - Haiti page.: This website has excerpts from books including The Uses of Haiti and Damming The Flood and other books that we are reading. It also has an extensive list of articles-excellent information
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti:
Mission
We strive to work with the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, jus tice and human rights, by distributing objective and accurate information on human rights conditions in Haiti, pursuing legal cases, and cooperating with human rights and solidarity groups in Haiti and abroad.
IJDH draws on its founders’ internationally-acclaimed success accompanying Haiti’s poor majority in the fields of law, medicine and social justice activism. We seek the restoration of the rule of law and democracy in the short term, and work for the long-term sustainable change necessary to avert Haiti’s next crisis.
"IJDH is simply the most reliable source for information and analysis on human rights in
Haiti." — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) |
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti:
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UPCOMING DIARIES
Sunday: RunawayRose
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UPDATE: reports on twitter (may or may not be accurate) say 50 deaths and cholera. This article says 40 deaths and probably not cholera but they base that on not having had cholera in Haiti for a long time.
Diarrheal Disease in Artibonite
We have been tracking both Twitter and French media reports of an "outbreak" of diarrheal disease thought to have killed approximately 40 individuals and caused "genuine panic". This is the official comment from PAHO: