Haiti - Newly published reports on the number of displaced persons remaining in camps, the Shelter and Camp Coordination Management Cluster factsheet and other data, produced by IOM Haiti and its partners, provide detailed demographic information about the almost 360,000 Haitians still living in 496 sites throughout the country, as well as details on the needs to end the on-going displacement crisis.

The IOM Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) registration analysis for 2012 shows that between January and August 2012, at least 84% of the population living in camps in 2012 was already there in 2010, which confirms that, most probably, they have been living at these sites since the January 2010 earthquake.
 
The IOM analysis also confirms that a staggering 58% still remain unemployed.  The majority (57%) of the households in camps are single-headed (34% women and 23% men), a reality which further adds to the difficulty of securing an income generating activity.

The Cluster Factsheet also highlights that approximately 86% of those in camps do not own a home and will need to rent a property in order to leave the camps.  This, coupled with the fact that more than half of the adult camp residents are currently unemployed, stresses the need for continued assistance and support to ensure the end of the displacement crisis in Haiti.

Since the government-led return programmes began in 2011, a total of 158,833 earthquake-affected families (some 635,332 individuals) have received support from the international community to find various housing solutions, but some 90,000 families (some 360,000 persons) remain in camps that have not yet been assisted by return programmes.  
 
Of this group of families, some 75,000 are still living in emergency shelters, mainly made of tarpaulin and makeshift wooden structures.  These families represent an absolute target priority for returns in 2013 and 2014, to avoid the risk of violence, possible secondary displacement and forced eviction.
 
“Some 96 per cent of beneficiaries who have received subsidies have said that rental support programmes should be made available to all families still living in camps,” explained Giovanni Cassani, the IOM Emergency Shelter Cluster Coordinator.

Since August 2011 and as part of the activities carried out by the Emergency Shelter Cluster, IOM Haiti has provided alternative housing solutions to nearly 12,000 families (48,000 individuals), in the form of one-year rental subsidies.  Of these, 95% have declared to be either very satisfied or satisfied about their new housing conditions.  

In 2013, IOM plans to offer the same kind of support to an additional 15,000 families (60,000 individuals).

“Based on the results achieved so far with the return programmes, IOM has the capacity to assist 20,000 families per year, so 5,000 more than what is already planned and for which funds have been committed by donors.  In order to reach this goal, and to provide a comprehensive assistance package, IOM needs an extra US$6 million to help the families relocate, as well as the host communities where they will be returning,” explained Gregoire Goodstein, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.

IOM is also appealing to donors for US$2 million to ensure the provision of essential care and maintenance to those families who will remain in the camps; and a further US$ 800,000 to ensure the production of its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).

“Since mid-2011, the majority of organizations providing essential services in camps, including water and sanitation, health care and security exhausted their funds and were forced to leave.  And so to ensure that these very basic services continue in the remaining camps, IOM is urging its donors to continue their support,” added Goodstein.

Also on the horizon is the 2013 hurricane season when many families will still be living in these precarious conditions and IOM will need an additional US$ 1 million to stockpile non-food items to be readily available for the most vulnerable population.
 
“The international community must not abandon Haiti now.  A concerted effort is needed to ensure that at least 20,000 families still living in camps will move into safe homes in 2013 and that basic services are provided to those families remaining in camps,” concluded Goodstein.

For further information, please contact Michela Macchiavello, IOM Haiti, Tel: +509.37021667, Email: mmacchiavello@iom.int   

The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is a monitoring tool designed to track internally displaced persons (IDP) population movement and provide updated information on the basic conditions in camps and camp-like settlements in support of the Emergency Shelter and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (EShelter/CCCM) Cluster and other humanitarian and recovery actors in Haiti. The DTM is implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Government of Haiti (GoH) through the Department of Civil Protection (DPC in French).
 
For more information on the DTM, please visit the DTM website: www.iomhaitidataportal.info

The Emergency Shelter and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster focuses on: camp management activities, provision of emergency assistance, transitional shelters and distribution of non-food items.  The core functions of the Cluster (a group of organizations linked by a common activity) are: coordination with various stakeholders, preparedness and capacity building, needs assessment and planning, information management and reporting, application of international standards, monitoring of cross cutting issues, advocacy and resource mobilization.   IOM has been the lead agency for the CCCM Cluster since the earthquake in January 2010 and for the combined Emergency Shelter and CCCM Cluster since September 2011.  

For more information please visit http://www.eshelter-cccmhaiti.info