POINT DE PRESSE SUR LA SITUATION EN HAÏTI SUITE AU SÉISME (en anglais)

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was also attended by Elizabeth Byrs for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Charles Vincent for the World Food Programme, Paul Garwood for the World Health Organization, Veronique Taveau for the United Nations Children’s Fund, Adam Rogers for the United Nations Development Programme, Jemini Pandya for the International Organization for Migration, Marcel Izard for the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Marie-Francoise Borel for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

UNIS

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of UNIS Geneva, opened the press conference by mentioning that the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, and his Under Secretaries-General for peacekeeping operations Alain Leroy and for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes had spoken to the press several times yesterday to describe the situation in Haiti, the losses and damages suffered by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) operation and other UN agencies and to describe all the actions taken by the entire United Nations system to bring relief and supplies to the Haitian population. She had asked her colleagues from concerned agencies to brief the press on the situation in Haiti from their perspectives and on the actions undertaken by their respective agencies.

OCHA

Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said she had just attended a Task Force meeting. In general the situation was extremely serious. The damage was extremely severe and it was feared that the final assessment would be very serious. It was a tragedy for the United Nations as well as for the Haitian people and the fate of the UN national staff, from whom there was no news, was also of great concern. The priorities at the moment were to save lives, get the survivors out of the rubble, treat the wounded. The United Nations would do everything it could to help the Haitians who were on the ground trying to get survivors out. The UNDAC teams had arrived on the ground and were already working, the second teams should arrive today and were accompanied by the Belgian Disaster Rescue Team (BIFAS) who were very efficient. They had two OCHA employees with the Belgian team. As part of the teams of experts, they had an expert in civil-military coordination. Given the magnitude of the damage, they would need all the civil-military coordination they could get, including helicopters as well as very important machinery to clear the rubble. The logistical challenge was a major one.

MINUSTAH had put in place a logistical coordination centre next to the airport. They were currently the focal point for logistics. The coordination cell was being organized with the UNDAC teams to welcome all search teams which had started arriving. Sixteen search teams were in the process of reaching Haiti, including USAID Fairfax, and teams from Iceland and Spain. Another 40 search teams were registered on OCHA’s virtual operations site. The response of the international community had been significant. A Swiss technical team was also on site. There were 3,000 personnel of MINUSTAH on site who currently had three sets of tasks, namely policing, supporting the search efforts and the logistical coordination. All UN personnel were traumatized but were continuing their efforts on the ground. The second major challenge was the poor state of communication lines. As a matter of priority, OCHA had sent a specialized team of Telecom Without Borders who were repairing communication structures for humanitarian purposes. Communication facilities should be operational at the airport today as teams were communicating with satellite telephones and via radio. The airport in Port au Prince was operational, all planes could land but only on sight. The USAID team was also working on restoring the communication structure of the airport control tower. The control tower was expected to be functional again later today. The port of Port au Prince was not operational, all infrastructure had been seriously damaged, the nature of the debris under water was not known as yet. United States ships were now approaching the Haitian cost.

WFP

Charles Vincent of the World Food Programme said 20 national WFP staff were still missing, out of 70 who worked in the Port au Prince area. Of the 70 staff, many had reported injuries to family members and damaged housing. The WFP team in Port au Prince spent the night working in the parking lot of the UN compound, with other UN staff, looking after wounded neighbours. Three neighbours died despite the efforts of medical staff on site. Communication was still the greatest handicap for everybody and it was hoped that communication would be restored to a satisfactory level in the next few days. WFP would be checking its warehouses where substantial amounts of food were stored. The major roads had been cleared by MINUSTAH but there were many people out on the street, which was hampering the movement of vehicles. WFP would be visiting the port area of Port au Prince today. Reports would follow. The general needs, as of today, were hospitals and medical care, search and rescue, shelters. Water was badly needed as most water systems had been destroyed. Food was lacking for most of the population yesterday and today. Insecurity was therefore feared and MINUSTAH would be patrolling to try and control the situation. In Jackmel, WFP yesterday started food distribution for 3,000 people at the airport. WFP was planning food distribution in Port au Prince today with military escorts for about 2,400 beneficiaries. Distribution would start in other areas as soon as MINUSTAH gives clearance. The distribution would be increasing very soon with stocks available in Port of Prince with other stocks available if required.

WFP was also trying to identify partners for distribution, which was difficult as all agencies have been badly affected, a serious problem for the next few days. A WFP plane is expected today with materials to support WFP and other UN teams such as satellite phones, satellites, food, among others. The airport operation is foreseen to last for about a month. As the airport in Port of Prince is open but very congested, good coordination would be required between the US military, WFP logistics cell and MINUSTAH. WFP continues to look at the Dominican Republic as an alternative landing site.

Question: What are the numbers of unaccounted people in the UN mission to date and the total of people who were in the building?

OCHA: An exact number is very difficult to give. There are between 50 and 100 MINUSTAH staff believed to be trapped in the UN Minsutah building. There are over 100 people unaccounted for. It is too early for an estimate. The fate of the local staff is not known as yet. The death toll, for the Haitian population and the UN will be too high in any case.

Question: How will you get the heavy equipment on site and how long will it take, how much impact will it have?

WFP: There are various opportunities to bring in heavy equipment, especially from the Dominican Republic. The border is only 60 minutes from Port au Prince. The US military is also bringing equipment. The movement of heavy equipment from the Dominican Republic to Haiti should not be a major problem.

OCHA: There is functioning hub in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic which is functioning.

Question: How long will it take to get the equipment to the ruins, people will be dying?

OCHA: As usual in these cases of disaster they are making all efforts to bring aid, UN staff are doing their maximum and assistance is already on the way.

Question: Has food distribution started and what is your timeline?

WFP: Food distribution started yesterday in Jackmel and is expected to start today in Port au Prince. The timeline is to ramp up the amount of food distribution sites every day with the support of partners.

Question: How long will it take to get food stock into the country to people in need?

WFP: If all WFP stocks are available, there is enough for the next couple of weeks. WFP is looking at bringing food from the Dominican Republic in the next couple of days. A larger operation, for 100 million USD, over the next three months will be done in a phased way. Things will arrive regularly if contributions are made.

Question: Is the airport very congested, is any of the material able to get out into the roads or is it blocked there until you get the heavy equipment?

OCHA: The airport is open but congested. Therefore a coordination center was set up close to the airport as well as a reception cell for all the international search and rescue teams.

WFP: There are no major hindrances to move equipment to the town. Some secondary roads, however, are damaged so not all parts of Port au Prince are reachable as yet.

WHO

Paul Garwood of the World Health Organization said the health impact is major inside of Haiti, at least eight hospitals and other health facilities are damaged or destroyed and two hospitals in the Dominican Republic have been severely damaged. Some Médecins Sans Frontières facilities are functioning. This hampers people’s ability to receive urgent life saving treatment. A priority is to ramp up healthcare facilities, especially those that are still operating. The impact of this disaster is feared to be particularly severe given the socio-economic vulnerability of the country. In some facilities, more than 600 have been seen receiving treatment in the first 24 to 36 hours for trauma, injuries, compound fractures, internal injuries. WHO’s priority is to focus on search and rescue, then the treatment of trauma and severe injuries and the prevention of infections of lacerations, wounds, compound fractures as they are a major cause of secondary deaths. Another priority is to keep infants breastfed. Another major issue is the control of communicable diseases such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, related to the impact on water and sanitations systems, and depending on shelter such as crowded situations. WHO works closely with partners to strengthen health aid.

UNICEF

Veronique Taveau of the United Nations Children’s Fund said the disaster response for UNICEF is done in coordination with MINUSTAH and other UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent. As in other crises, women and children are the priority as they are the most vulnerable. Before the earthquake, the Haitian population was already one of the most vulnerable in the world. Forty six percent of the population is less than 18 years old. The 2008 hurricane season had already badly hit the country. A UNICEF cargo has landed yesterday with the equivalent of USD 500,000 worth of material to immediately assist 10,000 people with rehydration salt, water purification tablets, hygiene kits and tents. A top priority will be water in the next few hours and days. A second cargo plane is due to land today with blankets, tents and jerry cans. UNICEF has made available USD 3.4 million for humanitarian aid. The Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms. Ann Veneman made a statement yesterday about one of UNICEF’s priorities which is the protection of children, especially children separated from their families, and orphans in order to avoid the possible violence and criminality-related consequences typical to these situations. Coordination is also done with the Dominican Republic where UNICEF has a very strong children protection team in Santo Domingo. The response from donors has been extremely fast, funds are starting to come in and a flash appeal will be launched about which my colleague from OCHA can perhaps say a few words.

OCHA: The flash appeal will be launched Friday or Monday, with the full support of the former US President Bill Clinton.

UNICEF: Coordination is crucial and UNICEF is at the service of the United Nations for this coordination to be efficient and for those in need to be reached in the fastest possible way.

Question: how many UNICEF staff are missing?

UNICEF: As of now, there is no UNICEF staff missing to our knowledge, although the UNICEF buildings collapsed with all its facilities. Telecom Without Borders is helping UNICEF too. UNICEF is bringing temporary prefabricated houses to be used as offices. UNICEF cars have been destroyed. The UNICEF representatives cannot move around as a result. The situation is very chaotic and difficult.

Question: you (OCHA) said that there were about 100 staff missing. Is this international staff? How many local staff?

OCHA: This is very difficult, this figure is indicative and can change. We think that there are between 50 and 100 people missing in the MINUSTAH building. These are international staff. We have no figures yet for local staff which is very preoccupying.

UNIS: We have no figures for casualties yet but there were about 500 to 600 international staff and about 1200 local staff employed by MINUSTAH.

Question: what were the outbreaks present before the earthquake? Was there any spread of H1N1 before the earthquake? Is there a need for an international donor conference?

WHO: Regarding previous diseases, during the 2008 hurricane season, there were outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, malaria, cholera, tuberculosis. Haiti is en extremely bereaved country on the health front, not just in communicable diseases but HIV AIDS is also a major concern. The destruction of hospitals does therefore have a major impact. Chronic diseases are a major concern when health systems collapse. As for H1N1, WHO is not sure certain of the situation prior to the earthquake but in other cases where sanitation conditions are weak, there is lack of hygiene and other humanitarian crises, there have been cases of increased spreading of the disease. We understand that prior to the earthquake some 50% of people had access to safe drinking water in Haiti, 19% of people had access to very good sanitation. So these situations can only be worse now. As part of WHO’s response, WHO epidemiologists and public health specialists have arrived in the country.

OCHA: In the past in such a case, there were always donor conferences. There will be one most probably. The launch of the flash appeal will also be a way of bringing the donors together.

Question: Is there WFP missing staff? Or is it integrated in the MINUSTAH?

WFP: The figures mentioned in the context of MINUSTAH only relate to MINUSTAH and not WFP. WFP has 300 staff in Haiti of which 20 national staff who has not yet been in contact. WFP has 70 national staff in Port au Prince. There are no deaths mentioned as yet.

UNDP

Adam Rogers of the United Nations Development Programme said UNDP is doing everything it can to support the emergency humanitarian response. Its value added will be in early and long-term recovery. The UNDP Administrator Helen Clark was with the Secretary-General and others in New York to determine exactly how UNDP can support the humanitarian response. The Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery staff are all in New York (including Geneva based staff) to determine the needs for early recovery. Rubble removal and emergency employment creation will be focused on. There will be more details on Friday and next week.

IOM

Jemeni Pandya of the International Organization for Migration said IOM has started distributions, with WFP, of non-food items, tarpaulin, Jerry cans, water containers and blankets and shelter material. IOM already had a stockpile of non food items to help approximately 10,000 families. Tents are particularly needed. IOM will lead the coordination of emergency shelter and non-food emergency relief among all the humanitarian actors working in that sector. IOM will be part of the UN flash appeal. IOM is deploying emergency operations’ teams from around the world to arrive in the next few days. In addition to an office in Port au Prince, IOM has another seven offices in the country. All international staff are accounted for. Contact has not yet been established with all national staff. IOM has a total of 89 staff in the country. The two IOM office buildings in Port au Prince are damaged but have not collapsed. The IOM vehicle are not damaged but cannot be used due to lack of fuel. Reports from the IOM office in the town of St Marc state that the hospital, which is still operational, received 50 injured people from Port and Prince as well as many more also looking for lost family members. The town of St Marc has suffered minor damages.

IFRC

Marie-Françoise Borel of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said IFRC has launched a preliminary emergency appeal for Swiss Francs 10,100,000 or EURO 6,800,000 for nine months to help 20,000 families. IFRC is concerned that the toll might be much higher than current assessments indicate. All assessment teams have arrived in Santo Domingo and are on their way to Haiti now. They are specialists in shelter, relief, health logistics among others. IFCR has mobilized nine Emergency Response Units around the world from the Swiss Red Cross, Benelux Red Cross, the French and American Red Cross, telecom units from the French Red Cross and two water units, a top priority, from the Spanish and French Red Cross as well as other units from various countries. IFRC is receiving a lot of responses from national societies across the world. The Haitian Red Cross volunteers are continuing to assist the affected population as possible, with the support from delegates who were already in the country. Hygiene article, kitchen kits and other material deployed for the 2008 hurricane crisis has been used. Other non-food items will be flown in from a logistics base in Panama. Efforts are continuing with other partners including ICRC.

ICRC

Marcel Izard of the International Committee of the Red Cross said an airplane left Geneva today with eleven ICRC specialists who will join the team present in Haiti. There are nine delegates in the country and 60 local staff. An aircraft carrier with 40 metric tons of supplies such as medicines to give basic healthcare to 10,000 people for the next three months as well as other support like surgical cases and one metric ton of chlorine to treat water. There is also a family links website which has been put in place to find relatives. This system has been in use since the 1995 Bosnia war. The Internet still works. So far, 1,360 persons logged in, among whom 150 Haitians in Haiti who have given news about themselves. Social networks such as Twitter and Face book are helping the ICRC in this endeavor.

Question: how many people from the Red Cross are in Haiti right now and how many are coming today or tomorrow?

IFRC: The Haitian Red Cross have roughly 1,700 volunteers who are all mobilized. There is one reported death, though the figure is not final. The offices are damaged. The offices in the Dominican Republic are not damaged and are being used.

ICRC: There are nine delegates in the country and 60 local staff. With the eleven delegates on their way today, there will be 20 delegates in the country.

UNIS: Information will be provided as soon as it is available about further briefings by the Secretary-General and by the Emergency Relief Coordinator.