USAID BULLETIN
31 JANUARY 2010
HAITI
INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION
At the request of the Haitian government, the U.S. continues to coordinate America’s relief efforts with the United Nations and the international community. We are coordinating closely with more than 30 nations and hundreds of NGOs to deliver food and water quickly throughout the country.
Secretary of State Clinton discussed Haiti with UK Foreign Secretary Miliband and the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Catherine Ashton, earlier today in Washington. The Secretary stressed the vital partnership underway in Haiti, with the U.S. and EU countries working side by side on relief and rescue operations, and the need for a “coordinated, integrated, international response to the reconstruction and the return of prosperity and opportunity to Haiti.”
At the United Nations, the U.S. Deputy Ambassador, Alejandro Wolff, addressed the UN press corps to draw attention to the broad international character of the rescue and relief effort in Haiti. Held just before another pledging round for the UN Flash Appeal, Ambassador Wolff was joined by UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes and the Ambassadors from Haiti, Brazil, Canada, France and Uruguay.
HEALTH/MEDICAL
Yesterday, the hospital ship USNS Comfort started receiving injured patients from the local hospitals and international medical facilities. The Comfort has a crew of 850 to provide a host of medical services, and will eventually provide nearly 1,000 hospital beds, and 11 operating rooms.
The USNS Comfort has treated more than 230 patients received from 10 hospital sites already.
As of January 21, more than 7,000 patients have been treated by the 5 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) from the Department of Health and Human Services and one International Medical Surgical Team (IMSuRT) in Haiti (all funded by USAID/OFDA). These teams treated 2,160 patients on January 20.
Each DMAT has 35 staff members and 40 beds and functions as a field emergency room, while the IMSuRT has 50 staff members and 35 beds and performs disaster surgery.
AIRPORTS & PORTS
The airport in Port au Prince is open around the clock. The U.S. Air Force continues to manage air operations at the request of the Haitian Government. And the State Department continues to coordinate closely with our international partners and NGOs to facilitate the smooth arrival of aid and personnel. This is a consultative process with the government of Haiti and the UN involving dozens of international assistance flights, beyond U.S. civilian and military flights.
On January 20, 153 flights arrived (38 of those were official U.S. flights).
For example, of the 330 arrivals from January 16 – 18, approximately half were civilian/humanitarian, and less than 30% were military:
155 were civilian aircraft,
91 from U.S. military and government aircraft, and
84 from international governments and militaries – the proportion of international flights is rising.
On 1/18, flights landed from: Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United States, Ukraine, and from the United Nations and numerous international aid organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the World Food Program (WFP).
The WFP has placed a coordination cell at the airport in Haiti to assist with the prioritization of flights and the movement of humanitarian assistance through the airport to areas of need in Haiti.
The port is beginning to receive some ships and is about 30% operational. The port at Jacmel, southwest of Port-au-Prince is currently operational during daylight for certain vessels. U.S. Army/Navy dive teams with underwater construction teams continued to assess port structural damage.
U.S. Transportation Command reports that since commencing air operations, a total of 160 missions have been flown that have carried more than 2,600 tons of relief supplies and more than 2,500 military and relief personnel into Haiti.
SAFETY & SECURITY
As of January 21, approximately 13,000 military personnel (10,000 afloat and 3,000 ashore) are a part of the relief effort.
The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) continues to provide assistance in support of Leogane and Petit Goave. They currently have 356 Marines ashore.
The remaining assets from 2/82 Brigade Combat Team and equipment will complete deployment to Port-au-Prince by January 22. They currently have 3,062 soldiers on ground.
As of January 21 there are 20 U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships, 63 helicopters, and 204 vehicles in the joint operations area.
The U.S. Coast Guard has 12 aircraft operating in Haiti:
Five C-130 airplanes
One C-144 airplane
Three H-65 helicopters
Three H-60 helicopters The U.S. Coast Guard has 6 vessels:
Coast Guard Cutter Valiant
Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma
Coast Guard Cutter Forward
Coast Guard Cutter Oak
Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton
Coast Guard Cutter Legare
Additionally, the Coast Guard has 3 vessels in the Florida Straits to support any tasking related to Haiti relief efforts: Coast Guard Cutters Alert, Dependable, and Venturous.
The U.S. Coast Guard has 801 service members on site assisting with recovery:
26 ashore,
719 afloat,
56 aircrew.
SOUTHCOM funded and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) contracted for the purchase of 50,000 hand held radios to distribute to the Haitian people.
As of the last night, 43,800 radios had arrived in Port-au-Prince. The remaining 6,200 radios are slated for delivery to Special Operations Command South by January 25 and flow into Haiti thereafter
The Military Information Support Team (MIST) in coordination with USAID will begin distribution of these radios immediately. 60,000 stickers, with the frequencies on them, and 60,000 hand bills that demonstrate (with pictures) how to operate the radio will be distributed with the radios.
This hand held radio initiative is part of an overall effort to reach the people of Haiti via FM/AM broadcasting of VOA programming and CJTF Haiti public service announcements.
EVACUATION & RESCUES
The U.S. government continues evacuations from Haiti around the clock. The total number of people evacuated from Haiti by the U.S. is approximately 10,500, of which 8,300 were American citizens. More than 1,100 Americans have been evacuated today, as of 3 p.m.
Search and Rescue: Currently, 43 international USAR teams, comprised of 1,739 rescue workers, with 161 dogs, are working in Haiti. 6 of those teams are from the United States – with 511 rescue workers from Fairfax County, Los Angeles County, Miami, Miami-Dade, Virginia Beach, and New York.
USAID/OFDA has provided more than $36 million in support of U.S. USAR teams deployed to Haiti to date.
U.S. USAR teams are currently conducting secondary reconnaissance missions throughout Port-au-Prince following the aftershock yesterday.
FOOD & WATER
C-17 air delivery of food and water resumed today—14,000 water bottles and 14,500 MREs/Humanitarian Rations were slated for delivery. The drop zone is in the vicinity of Mirebalais, about 25 miles northeast of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. A MINUSTAH battalion secured the site.
U.S. military aircraft, helicopters, and vessels are giving the highest priority to the shipment of water. Over the past several days, JTF-Haiti has distributed more than 600,000 bottles of water and more than 400,000 meals/humanitarian rations. The USS Carl Vinson is producing 100,000 gallons of potable water daily. Water tanks are being installed in each zone of the city and potable water is now available at 45 distribution points. The U.S. Coast Guard has distributed a total of 38.5 tons of water (62,880 bottles). And USAID/OFDA has delivered 9 water treatment units to provide 900,000 liters of safe drinking water for 90,000 people per day.
More than 238,000 meals/humanitarian rations and 400,000 bottles of water were delivered yesterday alone.
The Crowley vessel Maracajam arrived in the Dominican Republic yesterday with more than 60,000 meals/humanitarian rations and water for the WFP.
The USNS Lummus, capable of producing 94,000 gallons of potable water, is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
USAID/FFP has contributed food assistance worth $68 million.
To date, International Organization for Migration (IOM) has delivered 240,600 water purification tablets for household use, 3,300 water containers, and 1,920 hygiene kits (funded by USAID/OFDA) to several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince.
Today, World Vision, in partnership with USAID, started distribution of 2,000 metric tons of Food for Peace (FFP) commodities. The commodities will meet the immediate food needs of 18,670 families, or approximately 93,350 individuals, in Petion Ville, Delmas, and Port-au-Prince.
Yesterday, a USAID/OFDA-funded flight carrying emergency relief supplies arrived in Port-au-Prince. Commodities included equipment to maintain a field hospital, including a trauma kit and air-conditioning unit. This is in addition to the water treatment units, ten-liter water containers, hygiene kits, rolls of plastic sheeting, and water bladders provided in recent days.
ADOPTIONS & ORPHANS
Yesterday, Secretary Clinton announced that the State Department is heading up a joint task force with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to focus on orphans and unaccompanied minors, to streamline the process of adoptions, and to ensure that these families are united as quickly as possible while still ensuring that proper safeguards are in place to protect children in our care. An interagency working group has been established to focus on the humanitarian needs of highly vulnerable children. And the Administration is also working closely with the many Members of Congress who are understandably very concerned about this process.
On Monday, Secretary Napolitano announced humanitarian parole for certain Haitian orphans. We remain focused on family reunification and must be vigilant not to separate children from relatives in Haiti who are still alive but displaced, or to unknowingly assist criminals who traffic in children in such desperate times. To do so, we strongly discourage the use of private aircraft to evacuate orphans. All flights must be appropriately coordinated with the U.S. and Haitian governments to ensure proper clearances are granted before arrival in the United States.
ASSISTANCE
As of January 20, USAID had contributed $90 million to the U.N. appeal, including $22 million in non-food assistance and $68 million in food assistance. An additional $73.9 million in bilateral assistance for search-and-rescue and other assistance had also been committed as of December 20, bringing total USAID assistance to Haiti to nearly $165 million.
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