Haiti: Relief and Reconstruction Watch is a blog that tracks multinational aid efforts in Haiti with an eye towards ensuring they are oriented towards the needs of the Haitian people, and that aid is not used to undermine Haitians' right to self-determination.
The Miami Herald reported Saturday that new rules from the US Department of Health and Human Services have made medical flights from Haiti to the US much more difficult:
“One child died and the condition of critically ill children from Haiti’s earthquake worsened amid stricter rules over medical flights to Miami hospitals and others in the United States, doctors and patients say.”
Last week medical flights were stopped for five days after an apparent cost dispute between Florida and the Federal Government.
The Miami Herald reported Saturday that new rules from the US Department of Health and Human Services have made medical flights from Haiti to the US much more difficult:
“One child died and the condition of critically ill children from Haiti’s earthquake worsened amid stricter rules over medical flights to Miami hospitals and others in the United States, doctors and patients say.”
Last week medical flights were stopped for five days after an apparent cost dispute between Florida and the Federal Government.
Aid worker and Children’s Hope founder Leisa Faulkner describes her experiences working in Haiti following the quake in an interview with Sacramento News & Review. Her comments include a familiar refrain from aid and relief workers:
“There is no security threat from the Haitian people. Aid workers do not need to fear them. I would really like for the guys with the rifles to put them down and pick up shovels to help find people still buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings and homes.”
Aid worker and Children’s Hope founder Leisa Faulkner describes her experiences working in Haiti following the quake in an interview with Sacramento News & Review. Her comments include a familiar refrain from aid and relief workers:
“There is no security threat from the Haitian people. Aid workers do not need to fear them. I would really like for the guys with the rifles to put them down and pick up shovels to help find people still buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings and homes.”
In an interview with CNN, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said that:
“We have over 200,000 (dead). The last number I received from my services was 212,000 people that were collected on the streets and different places.”
Bellerive also added that the number of homeless is probably much higher than the one million originally thought. He stated that once those that were homeless prior to the earthquake are taken into account “you should have around two million people on the streets right now.”
In an interview with CNN, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said that:
“We have over 200,000 (dead). The last number I received from my services was 212,000 people that were collected on the streets and different places.”
Bellerive also added that the number of homeless is probably much higher than the one million originally thought. He stated that once those that were homeless prior to the earthquake are taken into account “you should have around two million people on the streets right now.”
Today Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner released the following statement supporting debt relief in Haiti:
“The earthquake in Haiti was a catastrophic setback to the Haitian people who are now facing tremendous emergency humanitarian and reconstruction needs, and meeting Haiti’s financing needs will require a massive multilateral effort,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “Today, we are voicing our support for what Haiti needs and deserves – comprehensive multilateral debt relief.”
To read more about the importance of debt relief for Haiti please see Jubilee USA.
Today Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner released the following statement supporting debt relief in Haiti:
“The earthquake in Haiti was a catastrophic setback to the Haitian people who are now facing tremendous emergency humanitarian and reconstruction needs, and meeting Haiti’s financing needs will require a massive multilateral effort,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “Today, we are voicing our support for what Haiti needs and deserves – comprehensive multilateral debt relief.”
To read more about the importance of debt relief for Haiti please see Jubilee USA.
This blog will follow the relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti. Haiti’s poverty, as has been well known for more than two centuries, is not so much a result of natural disasters or other characteristics of the country, as it is the result of the intervention of foreign powers. This has been true in recent years as well: from 2000-2004, the United States, in collaboration with other allies, cut off nearly all international aid to Haiti in an effort that wrecked the economy and succeeded in toppling the elected government. This blog will keep track of current efforts at relief and reconstruction with an eye towards ensuring that such efforts are oriented toward the most urgent and important needs of the Haitian people, and that aid is not used to undermine Haitians’ right to self-determination.
This blog will follow the relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti. Haiti’s poverty, as has been well known for more than two centuries, is not so much a result of natural disasters or other characteristics of the country, as it is the result of the intervention of foreign powers. This has been true in recent years as well: from 2000-2004, the United States, in collaboration with other allies, cut off nearly all international aid to Haiti in an effort that wrecked the economy and succeeded in toppling the elected government. This blog will keep track of current efforts at relief and reconstruction with an eye towards ensuring that such efforts are oriented toward the most urgent and important needs of the Haitian people, and that aid is not used to undermine Haitians’ right to self-determination.
