ReliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Humanitarian Country Team and representatives of the Haitian Government convened a workshop to define the response plan to the priority humanitarian needs in 2016 ;

• Recent floods have affected more than 10,000 families and heightens the concerns of vulnerable populations in the country;

• Since the beginning of the year, 7,782 cases of cholera and 96 deaths have been reported by health officials as on February, 27th;

• OCHA Director of Operations John Ging, and the United Nations Independent Expert M.Gustavo Gallón, visited Haiti last month and pleaded respectively for the relocation and the rights of the returnees from the Republic Dominican.

KEY FIGURES

Number of IDPs in camps Source: DTM, January 2016 59,000

Cumulative cholera cases (1st Jan. to 28 February 2016) Source: MSPP 7,782

Cholera fatality cases (1st Jan. to 28 February 2016) Source: MSPP 96

Number of people in food insecurity Source: CNSA 3,6 million

Number of people in severely food insecurity Source: CNSA 1,5 million

Number of children suffering from Global Acute Malnutrition Source: UNICEF 1,5 million 131,405

Haiti: Humanitarian Response Plan

A workshop to identify priority needs and response mobilization mechanisms was held in Port-au-Prince

The humanitarian community along with the Haitian government launched the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) process in Haiti. On February 24, a workshop aiming at consolidating the humanitarian response plans was held under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator. Among the stakeholders who took part in this exercise were the Minister of Public Health (MSPP), the Minister in charge of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE), and the Director General of the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE).

In his introductory word, the representative of the Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Marc Vincent called on the humanitarian partners, the state institutions and the donors in Haiti to produce a high profile document since it will become an entry point for the humanitarian response.

He reminded that this exercise is the result of joint actions and discussions among partners that allowed arriving at a consensus for a Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) based on each humanitarian priority: cholera, drought, bi-national issues, remaining internally displaced persons from 2010 earthquake and, emergency preparedness and response.

In his address, Mr. Jean Yves Robert, Director General of the MPCE stressed that humanitarian action not only distributes urgent aid, but lays also the foundation for sustainable actions to the poorest and vulnerable people to move towards recovery and rehabilitation. The Minister of Health, Ms. Duperval, echoed the same by underlying the necessity to find a link between humanitarian action and development. She thought it was important to focus on the results rather than the process. Mr. Robert Labrousse, the Minister of Haitian Living Abroad (MHAVE) expressed his appreciation of the efforts of the international community in support of the Haitian government to address the priority needs of vulnerable populations, and called for assistance to further engage the Haitian diaspora in the humanitarian action.

In-depth discussions were held around the type of essential humanitarian response to the negative and immediate impacts of most challenging issues such as drought at its consequence on food insecurity, malnutrition, and water scarcity; consideration of the cross cutting issues( gender, resilience, environment, human rights); mapping of malnutrition affecting children from poorest and vulnerable families; heath, water and sanitation linked to the resurgence of cholera; and vulnerability to natural disasters caused by environmental degradation. All these discussions led to a review and analysis of needs, prioritization and reassessment of the current response and gaps.

Haiti remains one of the most exposed countries to natural disasters and climate change.
Cholera still is an emergency with 27 municipalities remaining on red alert. According to the latest CNSA report, food insecurity combined with drought caused by El Niño affects 3.6 million people among whom; 1.5 million are severely food insecure. The bi-national issue has also increased concerns of humanitarian actors and the Haitian government.

Indeed, according to the latest IOM assessment more than 73,000 people have been interviewed on a random basis and reported to have been repatriated or deported or returned from the Dominican Republic since June 2015. These added up to the approximately 60,000 earthquake internally displaced who are still living in 37 camps and in need of assistance