Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Remarks
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR COLEMAN: Thank you, Eric. I’m delighted to be in Port-Au-Prince today to underscore the United States’ commitment to Haiti and its people.
For decades, the United States has supported the Haitian people in their efforts to build a stronger, more democratic, prosperous, and peaceful Haiti. USAID has provided more than $271 million in development assistance and $171 million dollars in life-saving humanitarian assistance and earthquake recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programming since 2021.
Today, I am announcing that the United States, through USAID, is providing an additional $56.5 million dollars in humanitarian assistance for the people of Haiti in response to the complex set of crises across the country, including the latest cholera epidemic, which has made an already-dire situation significantly worse.
As you all know, events in recent months have severely aggravated an already-difficult recovery from the earthquake in 2021. When insecurity, gang violence, and the humanitarian situation began to worsen last October, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to respond to the growing needs of the Haitian people.
Since then, we have provided life-saving food assistance to more than 144,000 people and transported more than 300 metric tons of health and hygiene supplies into the country for our partners helping the Haitian people to combat cholera. Our team of disaster experts continues to work closely with the U.S. Embassy, humanitarian partners, and the Haitian people to assess needs and determine how to deliver assistance to those most in need across the country.
Following the first confirmed case of cholera on October 2nd, USAID coordinated with the Government of Haiti’s Directorate General of Civil Protection to rapidly procure critical cholera mitigation supplies. We provided funding for the government to purchase soap, aquatabs, buckets, personal protective equipment, and disinfectant for approximately 1,300 cholera kits, which were distributed to an estimated 6,500 people in Port-au-Prince and Sud Department in recent months.
Cholera doesn't have to be deadly, but when those affected lack access to clean water, hygiene, and health care, it spreads rapidly and can be devastating to vulnerable communities. That's why our assistance responding to cholera starts on a local level, by addressing water and sanitation challenges and ensuring early detection of cases. And for patients who require higher-level care, we are equipping facilities with the supplies needed to prevent and treat the most severe cases.
Our new funding of $56.5M announced today will help partners meet the urgent humanitarian needs of more than 868,000 people across Haiti by distributing medical supplies and medicines, including personal protective equipment for health care workers and antibiotics, beds, and rehydration fluids for cholera patients; improving access to safe water; and bolstering health facility operations, including cholera treatment centers – critical to slowing the spread of this dangerous disease. New funding will also provide urgent cash-based food assistance to buy essential items in local markets as 4.7 million people face a severe food crisis.
We remain deeply concerned by the growing violence in Port-au-Prince, as gangs use increasingly brutal tactics, including sexual violence, to instill fear, punish, subjugate, and inflict pain on communities. USAID recognizes the disproportionate impact of the crisis on women and girls, who face heightened risk of exposure to gender-based violence, including human trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse. This new funding will also ensure immediate access to adequate medical and psychosocial care and other services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, critical to preventing further physical and psychological harm.
I want to be clear about one thing: The United States’ support for and partnership with the people of Haiti does not hinge on any one disaster or disease outbreak. USAID’s team here in Haiti – and all of us in Washington – are one hundred percent committed to standing with the Haitian people, even as other crises around the world demand attention.
We look forward to deepening our long-standing partnership with Haiti and its people to strengthen response and recovery systems, bolster health systems, and increase resilience in the face of recurrent disasters. And we will continue working in partnership with Haitians to save lives and alleviate suffering caused by the humanitarian crisis and cholera epidemic.
Thank you so much.