One year after the Haiti earthquake, the only way to ensure a better future for children and families is for Haitians and the international community to build on the large-scale efforts they’re making.
Friday 7 January 2011
“This anniversary, we’re all confronted with big questions. Has enough been done for Haiti, its people, and particularly its children? The answer is twofold: no, not yet – and, we must ramp up our work now,” says Gary Shaye, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti.
“Responding to a disaster of this magnitude that devastated the capital city of the hemisphere’s poorest nation has presented massive challenges both to Haitians and the international community,” adds Shaye. “And yet Save the Children and others have worked to help millions meet essential needs.”
In the past year, Save the Children has reached more than 870,000 Haitians – including half a million children – through health, nutrition, education, shelter, water and sanitation, emergency relief and protection programs.
But this is just the start of our five-year strategy to work with Haitians to help them build a safer, healthier, and more hopeful future for their children.
“Today, many earthquake survivors have better access to clean water and health services than before this disaster, and an ever-growing number of children are back in school. Yet more than a million children and families continue living in camps, and that is an unacceptable way of life going forward,” Shaye says. “All of us on the ground know that we are years away from securing the brighter future for all Haitian children and families that we need to achieve.”
In order to rebuild and progress, Haiti faces many challenges – some of which predate the earthquake. They include high rates of child mortality; lack of health and sanitation infrastructure; low rates of school enrolment; complex issues of land tenure; and the hemisphere’s highest rate of poverty.
A unique opportunity
We believe a new Haitian government, reinforced by the resilience of the Haitian people and bolstered by sustained international support, will have a unique opportunity to build better health, education and other systems from the ground up.
“What Haiti doesn’t need now is what would amount to another level of tragedy – the international community withdrawing or reducing its support because of the great challenges being faced and need for time and continued efforts to address these issues,” Shaye said. “We all must partner with the next Haitian government and civil society to deliver both reconstruction and transformative development. Our goal is to help Haitians help themselves to build their own future.”
Urgent needs
In the shorter term, issues such as camp security and cholera outbreaks present urgent needs that must continue to be addressed.
Camps are not safe places for children, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. We’ve been working to increase children’s access to school so that they can be in a supervised environment and learn about their rights while also building the skills they need to lead their nation forward. We’ll work to ensure children’s long-term safety and well-being through support for children’s clubs and community-based child protection committees and networks.
The cholera emergency has required that additional resources be pulled away from earthquake relief to save lives from an epidemic that, while new to Haiti, is common among countries that have poor access to clean water and sanitation facilities. This epidemic originated in a community miles from where the earthquake struck, demonstrating that the whole country is vulnerable to poverty-related emergencies.
We’re treating cholera victims and have launched a campaign to reach 600,000 Haitians in six months through education outreach, prevention activities and supplies to help stem the current cholera epidemic and prevent future ones.