Business View Caribbean - November 2016 11
cording to the Haiti Ministry of Public Health.
“The major needs are to renovate existing health
structures with durable repairs, to increase humani-
tarian assistance to rural areas, and to improve wa-
ter quality and sanitation,” Poncelet said. The lat-
est figures from the Haitian government show that
175,509 Haitians are still living in shelters, while
more than 1.4 million people are in urgent need of
humanitarian assistance.
PAHO/WHO teams identified five priority areas of
action for the health sector, estimating that $9 mil-
lion in emergency funding is needed to carry out es-
sential activities. These priorities are: restoration of
health care delivery capacity and access to health
services in the most affected areas; increased epi-
demiological surveillance to support early detection
and timely management of disease outbreaks; in-
tensification of vector-control and protective envi-
ronmental health measures in impacted areas; rapid
and effective response to cholera outbreaks in af-
fected communities; and support for efficient co-
ordination of humanitarian assistance and manage-
ment of information to effectively address the most
urgent humanitarian needs.
A vaccination campaign is planned to start Novem-
ber 8, targeting 820,000 people in 16 communes af-
fected by Hurricane Matthew and that have reported
cholera cases or deaths. To prevent additional chol-
era cases, which are likely to increase in the rainy
season from now until December, it is also impor-
tant to advance on water purification, health promo-
tion, and sanitation at the same time.
Bettina Luescher, spokesperson for the World Food
Program (WFP), said that the agency has delivered
food to 400,000 people, as part of its work to sup-
port the Government in its work. The situation is dire
on the ground, with huge logistical challenges, but
together with its partners WFP has reached people
by truck, helicopter, and boat.
Some 140,000 people are still displaced and living
in temporary shelters. The food situation is worri-
some: in areas hit by the hurricane crops have been
destroyed, along with livestock and seeds, local
markets are running out of food and the prices of
imported goods are rising. The planting season is
supposed to happen this month and will be affect-
ed, which meant in turn that the next harvest, in the
early months of 2017 will be affected. WFP aims to
reach 800,000 people. In order to do that, it has ap-
pealed for $58 million overall and still needs $40 mil-
lion urgently.
