Haiti Earthquake

For the next six months Oxfam will focus on recovery: making sure people have sustained access to water and sanitation to prevent disease, helping them earn an income, and assisting people to move back into their communities and away from camps. We will continue to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable people who remain in camps, while working to rebuild communities and foster livelihoods.

As Oxfam implements recovery programs over the next half-year, we will also continue to advocate for a just and sustainable rebuilding strategy in Haiti, led by the government with meaningful participation of Haitian civil society, including community and religious leaders and local non-governmental organizations.

Key Figures

• Oxfam is currently reaching more than 420,000 people with services in water, sanitation, hygiene, livelihoods and shelter.
• Oxfam has raised about $90 million worldwide for the humanitarian earthquake response in Haiti to date.
• As of the 6-month anniversary of the earthquake, Oxfam will have spent about $30 million (about 1/3 of money raised).
• There are more than 1.5 million people living in camps in Haiti.
• If you laid all tarpaulins that have been distributed by shelter cluster agencies end on end, they'd reach from New York City to Mexico City, Madrid to Moscow, Bangkok to Beijing or Nairobi to Cairo.
• The earthquake created approximately 19 million cubic meters of debris that has to be removed. It would take someone in a standard pick up truck more than 8 million trips to a waste facility to move this amount of debris. The majority of Haitians are removing the debris from their plots by hand.

Programs:

1. CASH-FOR-WORK PROGRAM:

Oxfam's cash-for-work projects give those living in camps a chance to earn an income while improving their environment by building latrines and clearing rubble.

Cash in hand helps earthquake survivors to purchase what they most want and need. Those purchases in turn support local suppliers and begin to bring Haiti’s economy back to life.

Oxfam has tested “cash for work” in crises around the world and found it more effective than food distribution as long as sufficient food is available on the market. It also helps restores dignity in difficult circumstances.

STORY: Oxfam's cash-for-work program

2. FOOD AND LIVELIHOODS 

As we shift our focus from relief to recovery and reconstruction, we continue to work with local partners on livelihoods recovery. These activities currently include community canteens, an innovative project to provide food while reviving livelihoods, run with partners in Delmas, Carrefour Feuilles and other areas of Port-au-Prince. After the success of the first 56 canteens in Carrefour Feuilles, which supported 4,480 of the most vulnerable families with hot meals each day, another 100 have opened and are providing meals for 8,000 people.

• 156 canteens opened to date
• More than 12,480 people have received hot meals daily from community canteens
• 49,900 people have received food kits
• 3,000 families have received livlihood grants of $130.

STORY: Community Canteens

3. CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION.

Oxfam has reached nearly 312,000 people so far with safe water, sanitation and hygiene materials.

Oxfam is distributing more than 8 million litres of water each day. We began by trucking water to the major camps in Port-au-Prince and are now seeking out those living in small settlements that have sprung up in vacant lots and yards throughout the city. We are also undertaking water treatment and delivery in other towns that were badly damaged by the quake.

• So far we've built 2,256 latrines, servicing more than 163,000 people
• We've constructed 334 bathing shelters.
• An additional 191 latrines and 125 bathing shelters are being built in various areas of Port-au-Prince, Carrefour, and Croix des bouquets.

We're also working with local organizations on developing innovative and environmentally friendly solutions to sanitation problems, like this urine diversion toilet and this bio-degradable 'peepoo' bag.