Saltar al contenido principal

Haiti: Annual Appeal No. MAAHT001 Programme Update No. 3 (Outlook for 2007)

Países
Haití
Fuentes
IFRC
Fecha de publicación

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.

In Brief

Appeal No. MAAHT001; Programme Update no. 3 (Outlook for 2007), Period covered: 1 April to 30 September 2006; Appeal coverage: 47%; Outstanding needs in relation to 2006 revised budget: CHF 1,206,128 (USD 1,012,896 or EUR 760,194)

Appeal budget 2006 and 2007: CHF 4,527,058 (USD 3,625,294; EUR 2,802,436)

Original Appeal target 2006: CHF 2,040,897 (USD 1,654,550 or EUR 1,306,558); 2006 Appeal budget revised in March to CHF 1,956,321 (USD 1,585,809; EUR 1,252,367), further revised in April to include the Kouri de Vwazin 'W project to CHF 2,277,496 (USD 1,912,719; EUR 1,435,130).

Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: Caribbean Annual Appeal (MAA49001); Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) Annual Appeal MAA42001; Central America, Mexico and Haiti: Floods from Hurricane Stan (Appeal 05EA021), Haiti: Floods from Tropical Storm Ernesto (MDRHT001)

Programme summary:

Following revision in early 2006 of the Plan of Action 2006 - 2007 focusing on the Federation's support to the Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS) and ensuring prioritization in view of reduced human and financial resources, the Haiti Delegation continues to face serious constraints in that limited donor support for its work has been forthcoming. Despite these difficulties, the Haitian National Red Cross Society, with the support of the Federation, has made significant achievements in the field of disaster management, in particular through the implementation of the "Kouri di Vwazin 'W" project which seeks to save lives in the hurricane season through raised awareness. Progress has also been made during the reporting period in the HNRCS projects in the area of Health, particularly in the roll out of the "Club 25" concept. In the area of Organizational Development, the Federation has provided support for the setting up of local branches. However, programme implementation has been seriously hampered by constrained resources. The Federation continues to seek donor support for its work in Haiti, given the major humanitarian needs in the country and the necessity of strengthening capacities within the Haitian National Red Cross Society in order to deliver services to vulnerable populations.

This programme update outlines the anticipated structure and focus of the Federation's Haiti office in 2007. Focus will be on strengthening coordination with both Red Cross and external partners through a renewed Cooperation Agreement Strategy (CAS) process through the development of an operational alliance in the area of health. There will also be support in rolling out the second phase of the Kouri di Vwazin 'W programme and strengthening the response capacity of communities in the face of disaster.

The Organizational Development initiative will continue to support the HNRCS in improving its management and strengthening governance and the Humanitarian Principles and Values programme will seek to be integrated into all programme areas and support an information and dissemination strategy and plan of action.

This Programme Update reflects activities to be implemented over a one-year period. This forms part of, and is based on, longer-term, multi-year planning (refer below to access the detailed logframe documents). All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org

Operational developments

Since national elections were held in early February and President René Préval took office in May, the situation in Haiti has been relatively stable, although security remains an on-going concern and gang violence and kidnappings, particularly in Port-au-Prince, continue to be a constant threat. On 15 August 2006, the Security Council decided to extend, for six months, until mid February 2007, the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) with a military component of up to 7,200 troops of all ranks and of a police component of up to 1,951 officers.

Following a series of working sessions held in early 2006 with the Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS), the Head of the Americas Department, members of the Haiti Delegation and the Panama Regional Delegation, a revision of the Plan of Action for Haiti was carried out. This revision took place in light of funding perspectives and the difficulties in capturing further donor support for the implementation of programmes by the Haitian National Red Cross Society with the support of the Federation. The revised Plan of Action, fully in accordance with the original Plan of Action for 2006 - 2007, is part of the wider HNRCS Plan of Action outlining all activities to be undertaken in 2006 with each of its partners, and seeks to ensure greater focus and prioritization in view of the capacity of the National Society and the Federation.

In line with this revised Plan of Action, the Haiti Delegation has made a number of achievements, in particular in the area of disaster management. The Haitian National Red Cross Society, with the support of the Federation, responded on two occasions during the hurricane season; on 30 and 31 July, tropical storm Chris left heavy rain which led to extensive flooding in the Bas Artibonite area of Saint-Marc Commune and a total of 938 families were affected. The HNRCS provided non-food items to 600 of those families which were worst hit and also distributed material for the organization of sanitation activities to benefit approximately 1,000 families. Subsequently, Tropical Storm Ernesto passed over Haiti's Southern coast on the night of Saturday, 26 August 2006 and on the morning of Sunday, 27 August Ernesto became a category 1 hurricane as it started to leave Haitian territory. The very powerful rains that accompanied this system considerably affected the coastal areas of the regions of Sud and Grande Anse, and caused lesser damage in l'Ouest, Les Nippes and l'Artibonite. Relief goods were distributed by the Haitian National Red Cross Society to the most affected communities in the departments of Sud, Grande Anse, Nippes, Sud-Est and Ouest, benefiting 600 of the worst-affected families.

In addition, the HNRCS/Federation successfully implemented the Kouri di Vwazin 'W project which centres around awareness-raising in remote areas, conveying key life-saving messages through community volunteers prior to and during the hurricane season. The health programme has seen the foundation of a number of project components such as an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign based on the "Faces" posters and material developed in Central America through the "taxis" initiative; the campaign is ready for implementation through barbers' shops in  ort-au-Prince and Petion Ville. Furthermore, the "Club 25" initiative, launched by the HNRCS in the initial months of the year has continued and blood donors are being recruited in schools, in accordance with the roll out of the project throughout the country. In the area of Organizational Development, the Federation provided both technical and financial support for the Hinche regional Red Cross branch for the holding of its General Assembly. Furthermore, the organizational development programme concentrated on the provision of support for the setting up of 16 local branches in which elections had taken place in 2005; in addition, elections took place in 43 local branches. The Haiti Delegation is also working successfully to facilitate coordination in Haiti with the Partner National Societies working on a bilateral basis in Haiti and with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Nevertheless, given that donors have failed to come forward to the extent necessary to support the priorities of the revised Plan of Action, and despite previous indications of willingness to support programmes, a further reduction in activities and in the size of the Federation Delegation has taken place. The Delegation is currently made up of a Head of Delegation, a Disaster Management Delegate and a Finance and Administration Delegate who are working with a team of 15 local staff (3 of whom work directly with Partner National Societies). Difficulties in securing funds have made it impossible to recruit for the positions of Organizational Development Delegate and Health Delegate, although organizational development and health are key components of the Plan of Action.

The Haiti Delegation and the Panama Regional Delegation are actively seeking longer-term and more sustainable solutions to funding; Haiti is one of the ten pilot countries identified to develop Operational Alliances and a proposal has been submitted by the Haitian National Red Cross Society and the Norwegian Red Cross to the European Union for multi-year funding for a reproductive health programme.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Haiti: Dr. Michaele Amedée Gédéon, President, Haitian National Red Cross Society e-mail: drgedeonm@yahoo.com phone (509) 222 55 54; Dr. Guiteau Jean-Pierre, Executive Officer, Haitian National Red Cross Society, email. guiteau2001@yahoo.com

In Haiti: Jean-Pierre Givel, Head of Delegation, e-mail JP.Givel@ifrc.org; phone (509) 510 26 28; Fax (509) 221 8633

In Geneva: Luis Luna, Regional Officer, Americas Department, e-mail luis.luna@ifrc.org; phone (41 22) 730 42 74; Fax (41 22) 733 03 95

For more information: www.ifrc.org