Haiti: Earthquake of January 12, 2010

On January 12, 2010 at approximately 4:56 pm, Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The quake rocked the country for 35 seconds, hitting the capital Port-au-Prince and the towns of Leogane, Jacmel, and Petit Goave particularly hard. The earthquake produced widespread damage throughout the country. The destruction was massive and the financial cost has been estimated between US$8 – 11 billion. The earthquake displaced almost two million people and initially sent over 600,000 people out of Port-au-Prince for the rural countryside and smaller towns. Due to a lack of regional infrastructure and limited aid flow, those who initially fled Port-au-Prince may find no option but to return.

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KOFAVIV (Komisyon Fanm Viktim pou Viktim, The Commission of Women Victims for Victims) is a Haitian women's group formed in late 2004 by a group of women from poor neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince who were raped during the 1991-94 military dictatorship. Social, economic, and political insecurity during the military dictatorship created a climate in which grave human rights violations (including gender-specific violations, most notably rape) were committed with impunity.

Zanmi Lasante When the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, ZL resources were in place to deliver aid. In addition to providing care to the hundreds of thousands who fled to Haiti’s Central Plateau and Artibonite regions, ZL established health outposts at four camps for internally displaced people in Port-au-Prince. ZL also supported the city’s General Hospital (HUEH) by facilitating the placement of volunteer surgeons, physicians and nurses, and by aiding the hospital’s Haitian leadership. In March 2010, PIH/ZL announced a 3-year, $125 million plan to help Haiti build back better (http://www.pih.org/pages/haiti/)

Haiti Response Coalition With a history of commitment to sustainable development efforts in Haiti, the small and medium not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations that comprise Haiti Response Coalition recognize the efficacy of their cooperative response to the emergency in Haiti. Working side-by-side with Haitian grassroots leaders, Haitian NGO & Association partners, HRC members have organized a two-tier coordinated response: (1) Mobilization of resources to respond to immediate needs and (2) Initiation of developing a sustainable recovery strategy that will reinforce the provinces and empower its Haitian partners to create a new Haiti by and for Haitians. HRC reinforces its Haitian partners through on-the-ground community organizing, networking of resources, facilitating strategic planning efforts, and advocating with and on behalf of Haitian partner. (www.haitiresponsecoalition.org)