Funding for remaining humanitarian needs clearly insufficient
(Port-au-Prince, 24 July 2012): The international response to the 2012 Haiti consolidated appeal (CAP) has been disappointing, stated Nigel Fisher, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti today, during the launch of the revised CAP in Port au Prince. The CAP seeks international funding to support Haiti’s most vulnerable populations affected by humanitarian crises.
As of 24 July, only US$ 47 million was received against a total budget for the 2012 CAP of US$ 231 million. Faced with this financial reality, the 2012 Appeal budget has been cut significantly. The revised total is now US$ 128 million. This means that US$ 81 million is still required to meet the most urgent critical humanitarian needs for three major priorities: cholera response, earthquake response, and 2012 hurricane season preparedness and response.
“This is an appeal to the international community for a much-needed assistance that will not only allow people to have access to a minimum of life-saving services, but will also help them regain the hope necessary to rebuild their lives with dignity,” Mr. Fisher added.
Haiti has seen significant achievements in humanitarian response and recovery since the devastating earthquake in January 2010, which killed 217,000 people and left 1.5 million internally displaced. Today the number of people who are still in camps has declined to 390,000. The cholera epidemic has diminished, but remains at epidemic proportions.
“These fragile gains might be reversed without continued support,” added Mr. Fisher.
“This appeal seeks funding for immediate emergency needs. We all recognize that in the long term jobs and economic recovery will help people in camps to have a better future, likewise effective management of cholera and other communicable diseases will require greater investment in building the capacity of the Haitian people, in protected water supplies and environmental sanitation systems across the country, and in proper waste disposal methods. Working together Haiti and its international partners must minimize unsanitary conditions that foster epidemics and communicable diseases,” Mr. Fisher said. “But we must also have an immediate response capacity for those who are at highest risk here and now. Unfortunately with dwindling funding, unmet humanitarian needs are growing while simultaneously the humanitarian capacity to respond diminishes”.
A significant constraint faced by Haiti and its humanitarian partners is the lack of adequate funding to meet these immediate risks confronting the most vulnerable. “We urgently need the continued support of people and governments around the world to help those desperately in need and to restore hope to families and communities whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by natural disasters, epidemics and hunger,” concluded Mr.
Fisher.
For further information, please contact:
George Ngwa Anuongong, Chief, Communication section, ngwaanuongong@un.org,Tél. (509) 3702 5192
Emmanuelle Schneider, spokerperson/Information officer, shneider1@un.org, Tel. (+509) 3702 5176
Rachelle Elien, information officer, elien@un.org, Tel. (509) 3702 5177
Widlyn Dornevil, reporting officer, dornevil@un.org, Tel. (509) 3702 5182
OCHA humanitarian bulletins are available at http://haiti.humanitarianresponse.info/ | www.unocha.org |