Haiti

USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team, including search-and-rescue experts, immediately after the earthquake hit to lead the U.S. Government efforts in support of the Government of Haiti.

Photo credit: Emily Rasinski, USAID

Key Developments

USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA)-funded Americas Support Team transfers equipment and operational support items to the Government of Haiti Civil Protection General Directorate in coordination with the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).

DART personnel continue to assess needs and access constraints, monitor program activities, and conduct post-distribution monitoring in southwestern Haiti and engage USAID/BHA partners, local officials, and affected populations to identify unmet humanitarian needs.

USAID/BHA partner International Medical Corps provides more than 1,400 medical consultations to earthquake-affected populations in Sud.

The UN World Food Program-facilitated convoys transport more than 330 truckloads of humanitarian assistance to support nearly 50 relief organizations as of September 20.

Background

Haiti’s endemic poverty and civil unrest—combined with recurring shocks from natural disasters, including droughts, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes—have resulted in food insecurity and other humanitarian needs throughout the country.  Since the January 2010 earthquake and October 2010 cholera outbreak, USAID has focused both on providing immediate response to affected populations and on supporting disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs that promote local and national self-sufficiency in disaster preparedness, response, and management. Since 2010, USAID has provided approximately $186 million to support stand-alone DRR programs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, including nearly $32.2 million in funding to support DRR efforts in Haiti. In addition to stand-alone DRR programs, USAID contributed nearly $133 million to support programs integrating preparedness and mitigation activities into early recovery and transition programs in response to the January 2010 earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Since 2011, USAID has supported the International Organization for Migration to pre-position emergency relief supplies in the event of disasters, as well as to develop Government of Haiti personnel capacity to manage facilities and deploy supplies when necessary. Pre-positioning relief commodities—including plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, and water containers—ensured that relief supplies were available for distribution to affected populations immediately following Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, and Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

In recent years, USAID has deployed Disaster Assistance Response Teams to Haiti following Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma to conduct disaster assessments and coordinate response activities with the Government of Haiti and humanitarian organizations.