MEMO/10/42

Brussels, 22 February 2010

EU Fact Sheets on Haiti

(EU’s Civil Protection Team in Haiti - Coordinated by the European Commission’s Monitoring and Information Center (MIC)

1. Latest Available Figures

2. Main Immediate Priorities for Emergency Aid

• Distribution of shelter and sanitation solutions remain the highest priorities at the moment.

• Rubble removal is increasingly urgent to make space for settlements.

• Sanitation in camps is a major concern ; the number of latrines needed being estimated at 20,000 ⁶ .

• Many of the 396 health NGOs working in Haiti are due to depart in the coming weeks, without sufficient capacity planned to arrive. There is a risk of a large scale outbreak of diarrhoea, given the present overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of effective waste disposal systems in spontaneous settlement sites.

• Main Challenges for International assistance

• Lack of government capacity to co-ordinate.

• Need to strengthen the sector /cluster coordination.

• Need to develop "cash for work" labour-intensive emergency activities (removal of rubbles) for Haitians to restore their livelihoods.

• Agricultural recovery needs to be addressed prior to the main planting season, in March.

• Before the earthquake, there were approximately 380,000 orphans in Haiti. The number of unaccompanied or orphaned children (including children with only one parent) is now estimated to be one million.

4. UN Flash Appeal ⁷

A revised Flash Appeal was published on 18 February 2010, covering both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It totals USD 1,4 billion. The largest requirements concern food aid, early recovery, health and emergency shelter and non-food items. 47% of the appeal is covered to date.

5. EU response

5.1 Emergency Phase

5.1.1 Humanitarian Effort

EU’s humanitarian assistance, including planned pledges, amount to a total of over €311 million (18 Member States + Commission). The Commission's own emergency relief package is worth more than €120 million (including €3 million in fast track funds allocated less than 24 hours after the earthquake struck, + over €8 million of ongoing projects in Haiti being redirected, + Emergency Decision of €19 million and a Decision of €90 million is in the pipeline, pending adoption). DG ECHO also reacted promptly by dispatching expert staff: 8 technical assistants that were in place just 14 hours after the earthquake.

5.1.2 Civil Protection coordinated by MIC ⁸

The EU has deployed more than 800 experts ⁹ and substantial assets from 25 4 EU /EEA countries that are providing assistance to Haiti through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (AT, BE, BG, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, HE, HU, IS, IE, IT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, SK, SI, ES, SE, and UK). On 9 February, the Prime Minister of Haiti appealed to the EU for urgent military assistance with shelter. No offer of assistance with military shelter has been received so far. A specific request for sanitation facilities assistance (latrines/mobile toilets) from the Haitian Embassy in Brussels was also sent to Participating States 19 February.

The Mechanism is prepared to deploy a third expert team, if required.

Summary Overview:

• 12 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team (around 440 people and search dogs): BE, FR (2), LU, IS, PL, UK, NL, ES (4)

• 2 Field Hospitals (90 people): BE, FR,

• 5 Advanced Medical Posts: EU, FR (3), PT

• 38 Medical Teams (253 people): FR (30), PT (2), DE, ES (2), HU, GR, UK

• 6 Water sanitation units: EU, BE, DE, FR, ES (2) and water purification tablets: IT,
  DE, PT, SE

• 7 Assessment teams (35 people): CZ (2 people), DE (4), IRE (4), IT (12), ES (7), SE
  (2), UK (4)

• 2234 tents for app. 18,200 persons: AT (400 x 6), SE (200 x 5), IT (155 x 8 and 1000 x 10), SI (25 x 10), SK (15 x 10, 4 x 12,6 x 8), ES (197x6), PT (65 for 615 people), BG (67 x 2), PL (200 x 6)

• 1 Technical Assistance Support Team (TAST)/Base-camp with a capacity 300 people provided in several shipments: this is a joint-module of SE, DK, NO, EE and FI.

• EU co-financing for transport of assistance requested or approved so far reaches a total amount of €4.5 million. Twenty (20) requests for transport support have been awarded by the Commission.

5.1.3 Military and Security Related Assets

EU Member States have offered a range of additional assets to support the government of Haiti and UN MINUSTAH. Exchange of information and coordination is facilitated through the Haiti Coordination Cell (EUCO) in the EU SITCEN.

Summary Overview:

        2 Formed Police units totaling 260 Gendarmerie Officers (FR, IT, ES).

NL has offered 60 additional policemen under logistical conditions.

       "Cavour" Aircraft Carrier with enhanced hospital on board (ROLE 2), engineering task force (190),6 Italian helicopters, and force protection elements (IT)+ 1 military police team+ 1 scuba diver team docked at "Port au Prince".

       "Castilla" LPD (Landing Platform Dock) Ship with enhanced hospital on board ROLE 2, 2 drinking water production and delivery capability and engineering assets, transport and supply assets, force protection elements, 450 officers and 4 helicopters. Acting in the area of Petit Goave (ES).

       FR “Siroco" logistic ship with amphibious landing capability and 4 helicopters on board.
(Out of the area will be back around 15 Feb. Likely to leave country definitively 19-20 Feb)

         30 Military personnel in Port au Prince (FR)

        135 personnel and 4 aircrafts on call deployed in location "Antilles "(FR)

       "RFA Largs Bay" - Auxiliary Vessel with Amphibious landing capability(UK) in transit

transporting water purification tablets , fresh water containers, metal and plastic

sheeting, 40 4X4 vehicles and heavy lifting equipment. Expected to arrive 18 Feb,
it will stay in the area until 15 Mars.

          4 military personnel as Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (UK)

          8 Royal Military Police (UK)

          7 liaison officers with USA and Canada. (UK)

          Two military building installations with first aid medical facilities, (FR)

          Field hospital and water purification facility (FR)

          Infantry Platoon (30 officers) offered by Greece to MINUSTAH

          Military Engineer Officer (IRE)+ national Planning Team

          1 medical team (5 people) (BG

5.2 Support for Early Recovery and Reinforcing State Capacity

The European Commission will make €100 million available for early non-humanitarian assistance, focusing notably on restoration of government's capacity to operate effectively. An EU joint team of experts (COM and FR, ES, B) has assessed the needs in this respect on the mission to Haiti from 1 to 9 February. Together with the Haitian authorities the team has made proposals for priority areas of support which cover reconstruction of government buildings, support for education and governance, budget support and strengthening disaster preparedness mechanisms.

The Council Conclusions of last Extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on Haiti (18 January) welcomed the launching of a coordinated Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) with the UN and the World Bank which should underpin the organization of the international donor’s conference. The need to “ urgently conduct a post disaster and reconstruction focused needs assessment” was reiterated at the Ministerial Preparatory Conference held in Montreal on 25 January.

Following the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) joint mission by the EU, the WB, the UN, and the Inter-American Development Bank, the Prime Minister of Haiti formally requested on 15 February the launching of the exercise. The PDNA has started on 18 February, structured according to the plan of Haiti government around seven priority themes (territorial development, infrastructure, social, productive sectors, governance, economic analysis and cross-cutting themes). Fourteen European Union experts are taking part in this important mission that will be discussed at technical level on 17 March in Santo Domingo and presented at the international conference on Haiti's reconstruction in New York on 31 March. 

5.3. Mid-Term Recovery/Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Phase

The European Commission will make available more than €200 million from the 10 th and 9 th EDF funds for Haiti to support its medium term rehabilitation and long term development. This will be in addition to individual contributions from EU Member States' budgets.

For more information and to download relevant documents please consult the ”Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti” page on Vice President Ashton’s website http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/ashton/haiti/index_en.htm .

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre funded by the Instrument for Stability provides maps and analysis at http://lunar.jrc.it/disasters/Crisis/HaitiEarthquake/tabid/425/Default.aspx

¹ :

Source: UN OCHA Situation Report no. 21 of 16 February quoting the Haiti National Civil Protection Agency

² :

Source : UN OCHA Situation Report no. 20 of 11 February

³ :

Source : UN

⁴ :

Source: EU SITCEN/Consular Unit, Member States Consular Authorities

⁵ :

EU citizens on consular lists of EU Member States' Embassies. This number also includes Haitians with dual citizenship.

⁶ :

DG ECHO Situation Report no. 13 of 17 February 2010

⁷ :

http://ocha.unog.ch/fts/reports/daily/ocha_R3sum_A893___1002170204.pdf

⁸ :

European Commission’s Monitoring and Information Center (MIC)

⁹ :

The number of experts is a minimum estimate due to partial information on the exact size of USAR and medical teams provided by Member States. The number of experts does not take into account for example, various other types of experts deployed in Haiti, e.g. logistics and communication experts, coordination and support teams,, etc.

Due to difficulties finding a transport solution for the Cypriot assistance, the country's offer were not retained.