IOM's Earthquake Response Creates Skills and Jobs to Drive the Recovery in Haiti
Two years after the earthquake devastated Haiti, the International
Organization for Migration is helping the Government of Haiti
reduce the remaining population in tent cities, while laying the
foundation for jobs-led economic growth to rebuild the country.
Haiti has been witness to one of the largest humanitarian
endeavours ever mounted and the most destructive urban disaster in
recent history. In partnership with the government of Haiti,
international and national partners, IOM is active on many fronts
providing relief and solutions for a crippled society that is only
now getting off its knees.
The results of all this work are encouraging:
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target="_blank" title="">IOM Haiti Transitional Shelter Programme
Monthly Report, December 2011
From a peak of 1.5 million people in July 2010, the number of
camp residents has dropped by 66 per cent to 515,819 individuals
living in 707 identified IDP sites across the earthquake affected
areas. Many have found better housing with the help of the
international community.
Two years after the earthquake, more than 100,000
transitional-shelters have been built, housing some 420,000
individuals or the equivalent of the entire population of the US
city of Atlanta.
A multitude of initiatives are underway, including the
government-led "16/6 project", which provides rental subsidies to
empty camps and public works to rehabilitate devastated
neighbourhoods.
More than a million tarpaulins were distributed (the equivalent
of 21.3 square kilometres or all of central Paris).
Before 12 January 2010, Haiti was already one of the poorest
countries in the world. Some 75 per cent of Haitians lived on less
than two dollars a day and 47 per cent of them did not have access
to health care.
This disaster highlighted decades of chronic political
instability and lack of economic opportunity that had left many
Haitians in abject poverty. The quake also killed indiscriminately,
hitting the government infrastructure particularly hard.
Significant steps have been taken on the road to recovery, but
structural challenges remain, most notably economic development as
the country turns the corner from emergency aid to sustainable
recovery. IOM is at the forefront of those efforts.
IOM was present in Haiti, long before the earthquake killed so
many and devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and other densely
populated urban areas. The displacement of 1.5 million people
delivered a devastating shock that stalled the economy. In the
massive aid effort that followed, IOM helped organize 1,500 camps
whilst giving Haitian individuals and businesses the means to step
forward and shoulder the reconstruction effort.
It engaged local contractors to build over 10,000 transitional
shelters and as well as durable homes. It engaged small engineering
firms to build seismic resistant schools and government buildings.
Local contractors were also hired to build irrigation canals to
grow crops and also improved Haiti's rural road networks, key to
getting agricultural produce to market. They also brought
improvements to public health systems in some of Haiti's worst
slums. Local contractors also developed the skills they need to
grow their businesses and create jobs.
"So much of our work is focused on the vital task of getting
Haitian businesses, especially small, one-person operations, back
on their feet," said Luca Dall'Oglio, IOM Chief of Mission in
Haiti.
"Whether we contract masons to build houses safely, or engage
small engineering firms to rebuild infrastructure, we are laying
the foundations of a vibrant Haitian economy where jobs take the
place of humanitarian aid," he added.
Much of IOM's work has focused on protecting the homeless forced
to live in camps and helping them to find long term housing
solutions. The number of camp residents has dropped by 66 per cent
today, a percentage that is in constant decline. As people
depart the camps, many with a year's rental subsidy, they are well
placed to both acquire new skills and get jobs as communities are
being rebuilt.
Two of the capital's most prominent camps, in two public parks,
Place Boyer and Place St Pierre, closed in recent weeks with IOM
help, under the government's "16/6 project".
The parks now provide badly needed recreation space for the
overcrowded city. Former camp residents have also found jobs as the
process of rebuilding houses and infrastructure in
earthquake-damaged communities picks up speed.
Pressure on the congested capital has been relieved by
decentralization. In cooperation with the Haitian social housing
authority EPPLS, IOM recently completed an inner-city housing
project in the southern city of Les Cayes. Among the beneficiaries
are handicap victims from Port-au-Prince. These new owners pay
small mortgage installments every month and are showing pride in
ownership.
In Port-au-Prince meanwhile, a team of over 200 Haitians are
busy mapping the footprint of each and every house in the parts of
the city devastated by the quake. This fine-grained work, under
IOM's guidance, is essential to the rebuilding process. This work
also gives clarity on property ownership, the absence of which
remains an impediment to development.
"IOM remains committed to Haiti and the Haitian people," said
William Lacy Swing IOM's Director General, "and we are there for
the long haul. I am also delighted that President Martelly's
government is working closely with IOM and the humanitarian
community as the pace of improvement shows."
For more information please contact:
Leonard Doyle
IOM Communications Haiti
Tel: + 509 3702 5066
E-mail:
"mailto:LDoyle@iom.int">LDoyle@iom.int