ReliefWeb

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14, 2021, is serving to exacerbate an already difficult humanitarian situation. As President Macron stated, France continues to stand alongside Haiti and its people.

Drawing on the presence of the sovereign forces in the French West Indies, the military is deploying the surveillance frigate Germinal to transport humanitarian cargo. The frigate is transporting a Panther helicopter from the 36F Air Naval Squadron and 25 soldiers from the 33rd Marine Infantry Regiment (33e RIMA).

The frigate has also been loaded with the following cargo:

14 tons of cargo, with a volume of 50m3 (basic necessities), supplied by the Regional Intervention Platform for the Americas and the Caribbean (PIRAC) of the French Red Cross in partnership with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Center; 18 tons of cargo, with a volume of 32m3, supplied by the Bernard Hayot / Carrefour Group (25 pallets of water); 15 tons of cargo from the territorial collectivity of Martinique (drinking water).
The Germinal departed on August 18 and is due to arrive in Haiti on August 21.

Additionally, in partnership with the Tulip association, which specializes in pharmaceutical supplies, the Crisis and Support Center of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs will deliver 30 containers (1.7 tons) of emergency medicines to Haiti, which our Embassy will turn over to partner organizations in the healthcare sector.

To ensure that humanitarian aid reaches affected populations, France is boosting its support for the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), and for the French NGO Atlas Logistique, which specializes in the deployment of humanitarian assistance.

France is also helping to deploy the coordination team as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to aid victims. Two emergency service staffers are part of this team.

Moreover, the French Civil Security Force has offered to send a water purification unit along with 40 personnel members and 22 tons of equipment.

France remains fully committed to Haiti, as reflected by its doubling of food aid since the beginning of the year.
France continues to work actively to get the international community to recommit to helping Haiti recover from the earthquake and to end the crisis.