Haiti - Escorted by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a 26-truck IOM convoy carrying 28,500 non-food item kits (NFIs) left Port-au-Prince for the most-affected areas in the south of Haiti on 11 October.

Four of the trucks headed to Les Cayes, where the aid was handed over to NGO partner Catholic Relief Services for immediate distribution. The other 22 trucks continued to Jeremie, where they arrived on 12 October.

The aid was unloaded into an IOM warehouse and will be distributed by NGO partners in coordination with the Haitian Directorate of Civil Protection. 

The NFI kits, provided by USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), include two blankets, one kitchen set, two plastic sheet tarpaulins, one hygiene kit, a bucket and aquatabs to purify the water and help contain the spread of cholera. So far, 510 cholera cases have been recorded, according UNOCHA.

“We are working with the Haitian authorities to expedite the distribution of NFIs in Jeremie in order to provide immediate assistance to people. It is the rainy season and there is an urgent need to reach out to all affected populations, including the ones in the most remote areas, as soon as possible,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM Haiti Chief of Mission.

More than 1.4 million Haitians are believed to be in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 592,600 children, according to UNOCHA. Overall, at least 2.1 million people have been affected by the hurricane. According to the government, at least 473 people died, 75 are missing and 339 were injured. Media reports indicate that the death toll could exceed 1,000.

For several days, it was nearly impossible to access by land the most-affected areas located in the Grande Anse and the south of the country, after a key bridge connecting the southern peninsula and the rest of the country collapsed in the wake of the hurricane. The first shipments of aid were transported by UN and US Marine Corps helicopters.

On 8 and 9 October, IOM Haiti received five cargo flights with emergency kits provided by OFDA. The aid distributed by helicopter was distributed to devastated communities in the shattered towns of Jeremie and Les Cayes, in partnership with the NGOs Catholic Relief Services (Les Cayes) and ACTED (Jeremie).

In addition, 5,500 hygiene kits also were handed over to Mission of Hope, another NGO, for distribution in Bonbon and Abricot, two remote communes in Grande Anse, Haiti’s worst hit department.

Meanwhile, 34 IOM emergency workers specialized in camp management, disaster risk reduction and protection are carrying out rapid assessments of the situation in Grande Anse and South departments.

IOM is also supporting the government in the two departments by registering people sheltering in schools, churches and other public buildings.

With an estimated 90 percent of homes in the South and Grande Anse departments damaged or destroyed by the hurricane, IOM launched an appeal of 20 million USD to provide an adequate humanitarian response in Haiti.

Download IOM’s Haiti Appeal here: http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/situation_reports/file/IOM-Appeal-Haiti-Hurricane-Matthew-9Oct.pdf

For further information, please contact Gregoire Goodstein at IOM Haiti, Tel.: +509 3702 5824, Email ggoodstein@iom.int