Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos begins two-day visit to Haiti

(Port-au-Prince/New York, 28 September 2011): Emergency Relief Coordinator and United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos arrived in Haiti today on a mission to take stock of the humanitarian situation and the current response to the 12 January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless. Ms. Amos will also assess progress and challenges in the fight against the cholera epidemic that has claimed the lives of 6,334 Haitians since last October.

“The humanitarian crisis in Haiti is not over. While major efforts are being made to put the country on the road to recovery, important humanitarian needs remain and must be addressed,” she said.

Today, Ms. Amos met Haitian President Michel Martelly at the Presidential Palace. She stressed the importance of not leaving behind the most vulnerable still living in tents who depend on humanitarian aid for their survival.

She also met with the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Nigel Fisher, and senior representatives of United Nations agencies and international NGOs. They emphasized the central importance of addressing the country´s underlying structural challenges in order to transition from the humanitarian crisis phase to sustainable recovery.

Some 600,000 people internally displaced by the devastating earthquake of 2010 still live in nearly 900 camps. They are facing the increasing threat of evictions from these sites, as well as growing insecurity. The situation in Haiti is compounded by a cholera epidemic, food insecurity affecting 4.5 million people and an active hurricane season that has already destroyed houses and crops. Ms. Amos will also meet donors to mobilize support for the humanitarian appeal for US$ 382 million, which is only 52 per cent funded.

On Thursday 29 September, USG Amos will meet with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Mr. Mariano Fernandez. During the day Ms. Amos will also visit a camp for internally displaced people in Port-au-Prince a new sanitation site funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The acute lack of proper sanitation in Haiti has hampered the prevention of cholera.

For further information, please call:
Emmanuelle Schneider, OCHA-Haiti; +509 3702 5176, schneider1@un.org
Amanda Pitt, OCHA-New York; +1 212 963 4129, pitta@un.org
Elisabeth Byrs OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org.
OCHA press releases are available at Haiti.humanitarianresponse.info or www.reliefweb.int.
For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org