The Diplomat
Spain is sending a plane today with 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Haiti to alleviate the consequences of the earthquake that hit the country on 14 August, which caused, according to the latest figures from the Haitian Civil Protection, around 2,100 deaths and nearly 10,000 injuries.
Organised by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the shipment includes 21 tonnes of aid consisting of medical material, tarpaulins, basic kitchen kits and water purification and sanitation material. The other nine tonnes are being provided by Acción contra el Hambre, the Spanish Red Cross and Médicos Mundo, who are working on the ground.
The aid will be distributed tomorrow, Sunday, upon arrival in Port-au-Prince, among the Haitian Civil Protection, the Ministry of Health and the National Directorate of Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) of the country.
The contributions from Action Against Hunger, the Spanish Red Cross and Médecins du Monde consist of 280 family hygiene kits, water and sanitation equipment, shelter and water collection material and basic kitchen kits that will be used in the humanitarian operations that these organisations are carrying out with the Haitian population.
In addition, three AECID humanitarian aid experts arrived in Haiti yesterday to provide support, together with staff from the local Agency’s Technical Office, to the National Directorate of Water and Sanitation in the use of water purification plants, sanitation systems, water storage and transport, etc. The objective is to facilitate the population’s access to drinking water and sanitation after the severe damage to infrastructure caused by the earthquake.
This Spanish emergency aid operation is part of the so-called “Team Europe” operations, co-financed by the EU’s European Civil Protection Mechanism, which co-finances 75% of the cost of transporting the aid.
Initially, AECID had announced that it would send 10 tonnes of medical material, as well as 250,000 euros to respond to the emergency appeal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
