IOM has launched a major new push to identify and meet the needs of
more than 2 million Haitians living in displacement camps following
the January 12 earthquake.

In its role as lead agency in the Haiti emergency response's
Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster, IOM has
established a new camp management operation team, funded by the
European Union’s humanitarian arm ECHO, which will reach out
to local authorities and community leaders to improve the flow of
information between affected populations and humanitarian
actors.

The first step is to establish close relationships with the
mayors of seven communes in the larger Port-au-Prince area, as well
as Haiti's civil protection department (DPC) – the
government-appointed agency in charge of camp coordination.

The team will also forge ties with local community leaders, and
hold commune-wide meetings with non-governmental organizations to
improve coordination on a municipal (commune) level.

"Our goal is to draw a clear picture of each commune, establish
priorities and then feed that information into the humanitarian
system in order to better meet specific beneficiary needs," says
Daniel Desmarais, head of the camp management operation.

"It is crucial that the information flows both ways, so we can
best understand and answer the Haitian people's own priorities. The
commune by commune approach is crucial, as each area has its own
personality with its own challenges, requiring very
context-specific responses," adds Desmarais.

The operation has seven camp-specific teams – one for each
commune – each of which has one camp manager, one field
assistant, one community mobilizer, and a driver. An additional
five mobile teams will also be available to respond to specific
situations as they emerge.

The teams will report information on a publicly accessible
Wordpress blog – a creative new approach designed to improve
the transparency of information flowing through the system.

"It works great; it's available to anyone from anywhere. You can
access this information from Gonaives to Geneva, from Petionville
to Paris," says Desmarais.

A blog for each commune will feed specific field-based
information to the NGO community on the ground, while another blog
will provide a strategic overview for organizations working under
the CCCM umbrella.

The camp management team will subsequently go camp by camp
throughout the communes, check the accuracy of the information, and
make logistical arrangements to meet the identified needs.

"We want to better organize the response's camp management
capabilities to meet the significant and continuing challenges of
this crisis," says Desmarais. 

"We as IOM can step in as camp managers of last resort, but the
needs are far too great for us alone. The work of our partners is
absolutely crucial."

In related news, 50,000 mosquito nets have just been delivered
to Haiti for urgent distribution by the Health Cluster and other
NGO partners ahead of intensifying rains.

The shipment, to be distributed in collaboration with the Haiti
disaster response's "Health Cluster", is among the first major
consignments to arrive, of an estimated 1.4 million nets needed in
malaria-prone Haiti. IOM will coordinate with the vector-borne
disease working group of the Health Cluster to establish priority
areas and individuals to receive nets.

"With the upcoming rainy season representing a period of
naturally increased malaria risk, there is an urgency to get these
nets out to camp residents and host communities to try and prevent
any excess outbreaks of the disease," says Dr. Patrick Duigan, head
of IOM's health unit in Haiti.

 

However, Dr. Duigan notes that there is no indication as of yet
that malaria rates have yet risen above normal levels for the
country. Recent figures indicate that the percentage of suspected
malaria cases reported for Haiti's earthquake displaced population
has decreased to 3 per cent in recent weeks, or an average of 4.7
per cent for the period from February 2010 until present. 

 

"The net distribution is a clear example of the kind of synergies
that are taking place through the CCCM and Health Clusters and
other NGO partners, to comprehensively address the needs of Haiti's
displaced communities," Duigan says.

For further information please contact:

Mark Turner

IOM Haiti

Tel +509 37025066/ +509 34906678

E-mail: "mailto:mturner@iom.int">mturner@iom.int or "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"mailto:markyturner@yahoo.com">markyturner@yahoo.com