Haiti: Hurricane Matthew continues to wreak havoc

“We still don’t have the financial resources to provide an adequate response to a disaster of this magnitude,” explains Hélène Robin, head of Handicap International’s emergency response.

“We don’t have the means to ensure people receive support as they struggle to get to grips with this latest ordeal, or to help them recover again. Hurricane Matthew continues to wreak havoc in some inaccessible areas and people are dying in silence. But our teams are doing everything necessary to help the population.”

Rehabilitation and psychosocial support

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the organization deployed two mobile teams of three experts to Les Cayes to care-manage injured people. Each team assessed conditions in the city’s hospitals and its rehabilitation services, supplied wheelchairs, crutches and walking frames, organized rehabilitation sessions and provided psychological support to victims of the disaster. Additional teams are being formed and will soon be deployed to the city of Les Cayes, then Jérémie.

Distributions of emergency kits, hygiene kits and household items

Handicap International is also planning to distribute emergency kits to provide people with a roof over their heads and decent living conditions, and hygiene kits and essential household items to stop the spread of epidemics such as cholera. The organization has already deployed two emergency doctors to the department of Les Nippes to identify the most vulnerable people in the region and to organize the distribution of 1,000 kits.

Including the most vulnerable people

“In the Grande Anse and Sud departments, we are also identifying the most vulnerable people – isolated heads of households, pregnant women, older people and people with disabilities – and we are providing support to humanitarian actors to make sure they include the most vulnerable people and give them access to humanitarian services,” adds Hélène Robin.

Logistical obstacles

Serious logistical obstacles are making it more difficult for Handicap International to meet the needs of people affected by the disaster.

“Following the hurricane, many roads have been blocked and bridges damaged. In the south and north of the country heavy flooding has also made it difficult to travel and to access people in need,” explains Hélène Robin.

To help transport humanitarian aid to remote areas by sea and land, Handicap International has set up a logistics platform in the cities of Les Cayes and Jérémie. “The aim is to enable humanitarian actors working in remote areas to receive items for local people and to distribute them to people who need them,” adds Hélène Robin.