A woman and her children take sit in ‘Hanna Praville’, a camp for people displaced by successive tropical storms and hurricanes in Haiti November 2008.
UNICEF/NYHQ2008/LeMoyne
Over 220, 000 people have been killed and more than 300, 000 injured by the huge earthquake which rocked the Caribbean
island of Haiti on 12 January 2010 – the worst to hit the island in over 200 years.
It took just 60 seconds for the earthquake to destroy large parts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, 14 miles from the epicentre of the tremor which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale and struck at 4:53 p.m. Two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude followed a few minutes after, affecting over 3 million people.
Rescue workers trying to reach the area described the scale of devastation and destruction as being a “catastrophe”. Around 1.3 million people are still in emergency shelters in the Port-au-Prince area and over 600, 000 people, half of which are children, have been forced to leave their homes in the city for rural areas.
UNICEF’s Response:
Money raised for UNICEF's Haiti Earthquake Children's Appeal has helped us fly planeloads of supplies to Port-au-Prince filled with essential supplies such as tents, sanitation and health and nutrition supplies.
Although these supplies have helped to prevent a post-earthquake crisis, it is important that during the upcoming rainy season the people of Haiti have safe shelters and the women and children are protected from abuse.
There have been no significant disease outbreaks, helped by the mass vaccination campaigns, which have already reached over 100, 000 children and the one million people who are now receiving clean drinking water. Over 200, 000 women and children are also benefiting from selective feeding programmes which are aiming to prevent increases in malnutrition rates.
UNICEF is also helping to get children into school, some for the very first time. The earthquake damaged or destroyed thousands of schools so UNICEF is helping to open schools in temporary accommodation by providing thousands of tents as well as learning and teaching materials such as pencils and books. This will ensure that children are not denied their right to an education.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and more than half of its population of 9.6 million is under 21 years old. UNICEF has been working in Haiti since 1949 and works directly with Haiti's government to develop long-term goals to tackle the poverty and lack of basic health care, education and sanitation services. The country has suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.
How You Can Help: