© Disasters Emergency Committee
The Disasters Emergency Committee brings together the leading UK aid agencies to
raise money at times of humanitarian crisis in poorer countries. By working together
we can raise more money to save lives and rebuild shattered communities.
Challenges faced by Member Agencies
Haiti was an extremely poor country with limited public services and inadequate infrastructure before the quake struck. The massive devastation created not only an unparalleled level of humanitarian need but also destroyed much of the already limited human and logistical capacity required to respond to that need. Staff from the UN, government, NGOs and ordinary Haitians nonetheless dug themselves out of the ruins, buried their dead and started to try to help others.
Severely limited capacity to move essential goods by land, sea and air had to be progressively overcome. Heavy moving equipment was imported to begin moving millions of tons of rubble. Most Member Agencies already had a presence in Haiti but have now brought in more international experts, hired large numbers of local staff and massively scaled up their operations. Co-ordinating the efforts of thousands of aid organisations to ensure their resources are used to best effect is a huge task and one in which all our members have been active participants. Basic services including healthcare, water and education are now increasingly being provided. Setting up enough acceptable toilets remains extremely difficult in a landscape choked with rubble and prone to flooding.
Our members have worked hard to overcome the huge challenge of providing emergency shelter. This has mostly been achieved by supplying tarpaulins to a vast population living in extremely cramped conditions amongst the ruins, a task that was largely completed before the arrival of the worst of the rains and the hurricane season. A lack of available land severely restricted the number of more substantial transitional shelters that could initially be built but many more are now being constructed.
Review activity and lesson learning
Given the scale both of the challenge and the response, DEC members have put in place early review mechanisms to monitor their progress. The Secretariat is helping to disseminate their findings, and key lessons from other early reviews, prior to the second phase of appeal funding.
Several agencies cite examples of how they have already drawn on lessons from past disaster responses. The early drive to replace lost homes after the 2004 tsunami helped highlight the housing needs of renters and squatters who are usually far poorer than homeowners. In Haiti this important lesson means members are focused on the difficult job of trying to rehouse people who have no land on which a new home can be built. Setting up feedback mechanisms enables agencies to be responsive to needs; one such system revealed that the poor lighting around latrines was a concern to women and children who did not feel safe. This was quickly rectified.
Later on in the response CAFOD, AgeUK, Merlin and Oxfam will undertake independent evaluations of their programmes.
Conclusion
Despite enormous challenges our Member Agencies and their partners have made a major contribution to meeting the emergency needs of survivors of the Haiti quake.
A huge amount remains to be done and the DEC has extended to three years the period during which we will help fund the work required. Real progress in Haiti is contingent on the Government being supported to lead the process of rebuilding in a way that is accountable to the Haitian people. The goal must be not simply to restore communities to their former poverty but to try to help them build better lives.
What DEC Members are doing in Haiti
Use of funds by sector of activity – first 6 months
