The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) is to provide humanitarian aid of more than 200,000 euros to cover the basic needs of more than 3,800 people in the department of Nippes, in Haiti, affected by the earthquake last August.
The aid, worth 206,446.82 euros, will be distributed on the ground by the local organizations Plan International Haiti and Caritas Nippes thanks to the activation of the emergency agreement that AECID has with the NGO Plan International Spain.
This humanitarian initiative foresees the delivery of cash to a total of 712 families (1,486 men, 1,282 women, 583 boys and 503 girls) in Petit Trou, Baradères and I’Azile, in the department of Nippes, for a period of four months, to ensure food and other basic needs of the most vulnerable families affected by the earthquake last August.
On August 14, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwest Haiti, killing some 2,200 people, injuring more than 10,000, and damaging or completely destroying some 130,000 homes. Haiti is ranked 170th out of ‘the 189 countries included in the United Nations Human Development Index 2019. Apart from that, according to the latest figures from Plan International, 42% of people face severe food shortages.
According to the NGO, sexual harassment and physical violence against women and girls in the most affected areas have increased since the earthquake. Many of them are homeless or feel at risk of being assaulted in makeshift settlements. For this reason, AECID’s intervention includes awareness-raising sessions and activities for women, girls, boys and adolescents on child protection and gender-based violence.
After the earthquake, AECID, together with the NGOs Acción contra el Hambre, the Spanish Red Cross and Médicos del Mundo, sent 30 tons of humanitarian aid to Haiti and a group of humanitarian aid experts from the Spanish Technical Team for Emergency Aid and Response (START) to help the Haitian government set up water purification systems and train local technicians in emergency situations related to water and sanitation.
In addition, AECID financed with 250,000 euros the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) appeal for international aid for this emergency and, in September, activated the emergency agreements it maintains with the NGOs Red Cross and Action Against Hunger, for a total value of 265,433 euros, to enable access to drinking water for the population of Sud, Nippes and Grand’Anse and to train local technicians in water and sanitation.
