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An Independent Joint Evaluation of the Haiti Earthquake Humanitarian Response

Countries
Haiti
Sources
CARE
+ 1 more
Publication date
Origin
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Executive Summary

Background, scope and methodology

The earthquake that struck Haiti with a magnitude of 7.0 on January 12 created one of the most rapidly devastating humanitarian crises in years. Over 300,000 people are thought to have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands were injured, and almost a million were left homeless. The massive structural damage that affected cities and towns in Haiti is valued at over $8 billion USD.1 The human cost was incalculable in terms of trauma, suffering and distress.

There was a huge outpouring of international compassion and major efforts to support and respond were made. In the context of a complex and challenging situation on the ground, CARE and Save the Children (SCF) mobilized a timely disaster relief effort in the worst hit urban and peri?urban areas. Emergency response staff of both agencies were rapidly on site, and in the following weeks, these two agencies, along with many others, launched major humanitarian responses.

In September 2010, CARE International and Save the Children commissioned a joint independent evaluation of their humanitarian assistance. The evaluation used OECD?DAC criteria and crosscutting themes to assess the aid efforts to date. This evaluation presents a snapshot of the global humanitarian inter?agency response in areas of CARE and SCF intervention, as felt and perceived by a cross section of groups representative of Haitian society. It is important to emphasize that the findings reflect the views and sentiments of Haitians themselves in conversations led by and between Haitians.