Two new sites in Port-au- Prince and Léogâne have been
identified to develop temporary tent settlements for those living
in deplorable conditions in makeshift settlements without basic
services.

In the capital, a temporary tent settlement within the city
limits on Route de Tabarre will be developed to house some 4,000
persons currently living in an improvised settlement on the grounds
of the Prime Minister's Offices. 

Another site has been identified in Léogâne, a city
southeast of the capital which was devastated by the
earthquake. 

IOM is in discussion with its partners to find agencies to
provide basic services and management at the sites. The Haitian
National Police will provide security in the settlements. 

"The temporary tent settlements will provide a clean and safe
environment for the displaced, but they are a short term solution.
 Tent settlements are not sustainable," emphasised Vincent
Houver, IOM Chief of  Mission in Haiti. 

The Government of Haiti plans to establish several sites in
the greater Port-au-Prince area, each able to accommodate a few
thousand individuals. Earthquake victims will be relocated to these
sites pending reconstruction efforts. 

"A more solid and sustainable option is needed, but we also need
tents. There is a shortage of tents," said Houver. 

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2010

IOM has 10,000 family-size tents in its warehouse in
Port-au-Prince, but estimated needs stand at 100,000 to assist
500,000 persons.  

The Organization is also receiving a huge number of requests for
tents from NGOs and many groups and families that have lost their
homes. 

"Tents are by no means the only solution, but in the short term
we need them.  We are also pushing for more sustainable
alternatives, but we need to support the government in its need to
provide an immediate improvement for the homeless, so we need to
move forward with these sites," said Houver. 

"The relocation of displaced people is complex and requires that
basic services be up and running and to have security in place
before people are moved.  The endeavour is not a simple check
list. IOM and its partners are on the ground to help the people of
Haiti, but the task must be done right," said Houver. 

As of 22 January, the Government of Haiti had reported 609,000
persons without shelter in the wider Port-au-Prince area. The
number of people leaving the capital is increasing daily.

More than 130,000 people have taken advantage of the
Government's offer of free transportation to cities in the north
and southwest.

Meanwhile, IOM and its cluster partners, including Concern
Worldwide, GOAL, Care, are providing the displaced with non-food
items donated by the US and Japanese governments, reaching some
200,000 persons each day with essentials such as hygiene kits,
jerrycans, water purification tablets, blankets, mosquito nets, and
plastic sheeting.

On Saturday IOM distributed hygiene kits and jerrycans to 29,013
persons at 14 locations in the Port-au-Prince neighbourhoods of
Pétionville, Juvenat, Canapé Vert, Delmas 83, and
Delmas 85.?

As part of an initial appeal launched on 15 January, the
Organization is asking for US$ 30 million to provide emergency
shelter, non-food assistance and among other things, establish a
cash-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
target="" title="">http://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="" title=
"">npineiro@iom.int

or

Jean-Philippe Chauzy

IOM Geneva

Tel: + 41 22 717 9361

       + 41 79 285 4366

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

Jemini Pandya

IOM Geneva

Tel: + 41 22 717 9486

       + 41 79 217 3374

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