More than 100,000 persons are receiving essential relief items each
day from IOM and its partners in the capital Port au Prince and
other areas that sustained extensive damage from last week’s
devastating earthquake.

"Distribution at this time of great need can be a bit chaotic,
but what is important is that we get the aid out to the people,"
says Vincent Houver, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Haiti.

IOM, UN agencies, NGOs and the private sector are distributing
essential non food items (NFIs) such as plastic sheeting and jerry
cans to the displaced.  After most acute needs are met,
distributions will include building materials such as tarpaulins,
cement, wood, tools, and ropes to help people fix their homes or
build a more secure structure.

"Shelter strategies do not end with a tent.  Tents are a
short-term solution; we cannot expect people to stay in them
forever.  Homes need to be rebuilt," says Houver.

As of today, 508 makeshift settlements have been identified in
the greater Port au Prince area.  The 314 settlements assessed
so far by IOM, the Government of Haiti and partners, indicate a
population of 472,000 people.

"border: 1px solid rgb(51, 102, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; background: rgb(153, 204, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; width: 220px; float: right; clear: right; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">
"padding: 3px; background: rgb(51, 102, 204) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Make
a Donation Help Haiti's Earthquake Victims "12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"
style="margin-left: 7px;">  "paragraph-link-no-underline" href="http://www.usaim.org" target=
"_blank" title="">United States "12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"
style="margin-left: 7px;">  "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://iomdonations.kintera.org/" target="_blank" title="">Other
Countries "12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"
style="margin-left: 7px;">  "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://ochadms.unog.ch/quickplace/cap/main.nsf/h_Index/Flash_2010_Haiti/$FILE/Flash_2010_Haiti_SCREEN.pdf?OpenElement"
target="_blank" title="">Haiti Earthquake Flash Appeal
2010

The Government of Haiti is planning to establish six sites in
greater Port au Prince, each able to accommodate a few thousand
individuals.  Earthquake victims will be relocated to these
sites pending reconstruction efforts. 

The temporary shelter sites must be closely linked to
reconstruction efforts so people are not moved again.  For
this, IOM and its partners need strong and quick arrangements and
the full support of the local authorities in order to keep
residents informed of the process.

"These settlements cannot be built overnight.  There are
standards that have to be designed by experts.  There is the
levelling of the land, procurement and delivery of tents, as well
as water and sanitation," explains Houver.

Partner governments and NGOs have committed to provide better
shelter condition and services at existing settlements.  The
French Government will work on the large makeshift settlement at
Champ de Mars, located by the presidential palace.  The NGO
Islamic Relief of USA and the French NGO ACTED have also confirmed
they will take on other settlements.

Provision of tents remains an issue because the needs are so
large and stocks in the region have been depleted.  The
Organization also needs shelter kits to distribute to those who can
repair their homes or build more secure structures so they will not
need to relocate.

On 21 January, IOM received 246 boxes of plastic sheeting, which
will cover the needs of 2,460 families and 7,000 litres of bottled
water from USAID.

As part of an initial appeal launched last week, the
Organization is asking for US$30 million to provide emergency
shelter, non-food assistance, track internal displacement and among
other things, establish a food-for-work programme that would
include rubble removal.

IOM has so far received pledges totalling USD 19,6 million from
the US government (OFDA/USAID), Sweden, Canada, France, Finland,
Korea, the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the
Clinton Foundation and Argos Cement Company of Colombia to support
ongoing relief operations and future rebuilding efforts.

Private donations can be made to IOM through the IOM
website at "http://www.iom.int" target="" title="">www.iom.int and in the
United States at "http://www.usaim.org/PROJECTHaiti.asp" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.usaim.org/PROJECTHaiti.asp

For further information, please contact:

Niurka Pineiro

Port au Prince

Tel: + 509 3490 6678

E-mail: "mailto:npineiro@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">npineiro@iom.int

or  

Jean Philippe Chauzy

Tel: + 41 22 717 9361

       + 41 79 285 4366 

E-mail: "mailto:pchauzy@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">pchauzy@iom.int