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Haiti - Humanitarian situation 10 years after earthquake (DG ECHO) (ECHO Daily Flash of 14 January 2020)

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Haiti
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ECHO
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  • 10 years after the earthquake that devastated Haiti and destroyed 60% of the health system, the country is undergoing another acute humanitarian crisis. With the intensification of economic and political concerns, medical facilities are struggling to provide basic services due to drug, oxygen, blood, fuel and staff shortages. Months-long countrywide shutdowns and heightened violence in 2019 hindered the movement of ambulances, healthcare workers, medical supplies and patients. According to Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), most medical humanitarian actors have left the country and Haiti's medical system is once again on the brink of collapse.
  • While noting the decline of cholera cases, other humanitarian partners are calling for continued epidemiological vigilance given that water and sanitation remains inadequate and services need external support to respond to basic needs. 57% of Haitian families do not have means to treat water, and one third of the population living in rural areas consume water from unprotected sources. Lack of clean water and poor hygiene practices are one major cause of severe acute malnutrition among children under-5, compounding the effects of the acute food crisis.