Statement to the press by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti Mr. Peter de Clercq

Geneva, 17 December 2013 I have come here today to speak about Haiti. Unfortunately, over the last four years, there have been too many reasons drawing attention of the United Nations and the International Community to this small Caribbean country: the 2010 devastating earthquake; the cholera outbreak that followed in October that year; the passage of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
But today, I come with a different message.

I come to say that our efforts to help Haiti recover from these various shocks are beginning to work. That there is an end in sight to the suffering, the losses, and the destruction; to the massive displacement that followed the earthquake and to the cholera outbreak that has claimed too many lives. And that precisely because that end is in sight, we cannot let our guard down and our engagement needs to be sustained.

Four years after the 2010 earthquake that left over 10% of Haitians (or 1.5 million people) displaced in the capital of the city, 89% of the displaced population have left the camps; the incidence of cholera – the largest cholera epidemic in the world - has been reduced by over 50% since the outbreak in 2010; severe food insecurity has been brought down from 1.5 million affected people in early 2013 to 600,000 in October 2013. Such progress was only possible thanks to humanitarian action in concert with national efforts.

Despite this progress, critical needs and acute vulnerabilities continue to exist across the country requiring life and livelihood-saving interventions. An estimated 30% of Haiti’s ten million people are still suffering from the impact of both chronic and acute needs. An estimated 145,000 people will remain displaced in camps as of the beginning of 2014. They are mostly women and children, with no place to go and no alternatives to their displacement. They live in tents; share one latrine with 50 other people; they have little access to water, to health services and to school.

Yet, solutions to this situation are known and available. Displacement in Haiti could be ended in 2014 if the resources to do so were offered. A similar situation applies to the cholera outbreak. Despite advances made so far, the epidemic continues to be the largest worldwide and to claim too many lives. Yet, solutions are in our hands. If we do not pursue our efforts to combat the disease there is a risk it will continue to ravage the country and spread to other areas in the region.

I am well aware of the challenges to meet all humanitarian needs around the world. The situation in Syria, in the Philippines, Central African Republic, in the DRC and in many other places at war or hit by natural disasters compete for the limited global resources available to meet the lifesaving needs of millions of people.

But how we respond today will have an impact on the needs of tomorrow. A premature disengagement from Haiti could compromise much for the gains made so far and be the basis of other future crises that will cost much more to respond to, then, than today. The pursuit of durable solutions, under the leadership of the Government of Haiti is under way – but this will take time, and does not bring immediate relief to those in acute need.

We owe it to every Haitian, to ourselves and to the efforts made so far to see this journey through so that, in the not so distant future, Haitians can live in a house instead of a tent, free of hunger, malnutrition, free of cholera, and with stronger coping mechanisms in case of a future crisis.

Thank you.

To see the Humanitarian Action Plan for Haiti 2014 click here