UN, Red Cross: Haiti aid effort improving - Summary

Geneva - Efforts to get aid to victims of Haiti's earthquake were improving Thursday, key agencies said, but bottlenecks remained and for many people in the poor country solutions were far away. "Aid is starting to reach the survivors of the devastating earthquake," the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

"However, hundreds of thousands living on the streets of Port-au- Prince, and tens of thousands outside the capital, still do not have access to many basic services," the neutral aid organization noted.

Over half of all structures in Port-au-Prince are believed to have collapsed and at least a million people are estimated to be homeless. Aid workers say finding adequate shelter for these people would not be a short or easy process.

Bringing in the basic aid goods were some 150 planes landing daily at Port-au- Prince airport as logistics improved, the United Nations said, but warned the situation remains a "challenge."

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted "heavy congestion at the Port-au-Prince airport" and "finding free slots for large aircraft is still a challenge."

The planes were bringing in relief in various forms, including and food aid and medicine for survivors of the January 12 earthquake.

Because of price hikes and reported food shortages, the government of Haiti has asked the UN to conduct food distributions across the poor nation, even in areas not directly hit by the quake, which official now estimate left at least 75,000 people dead.

"The people of Haiti are incredibly resilient and despite the pain, hardship and chaos, a semblance of normality seems to be returning to Port-au-Prince," ICRC spokesman in Haiti Simon Schorno said.

The Red Cross network was working to connect survivors to their families, facilitating phone calls to relatives and offering a tracing service.

Haiti's rainy season will start in April, and the government was pushing the UN and other aid agencies to find solutions to the lack of shelter before then, OCHA said.

Also of concern remain water access for the people of Haiti and the need for more medical care, including mental health.

Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) said it had started to operate teams offering psychological support for the patients who have had limbs amputated and their families at the Carrefour hospital.

Meanwhile, funding needs for the UN's humanitarian relief effort were almost a third met, after it requested some 575 million dollars for Haiti's emergency relief efforts and longer term recovery.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305077,un-red-cross-haiti-aid-effort-improving--summary.html.