Haiti Earthquake 3: Relief operation
ActionAid's International Head of Media Sarah Gillam is in Port au Prince as part of ActionAid's response to the devastating earthquake of January 12th 2010
Wednesday 20th January - "Relief Operation: Working together”
Woke up this morning to hear people screaming outside and my bed shaking. Should I run outside naked or find my clothes? I opted for the clothes but realised those vital seconds could be a matter of life and death. The earth seemed to settle and after hanging around for a while, we went back inside.
In the Mariani neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince where we work, primary needs identified so far are food, shelter, chlorine tablets for water and medical attention.
We piloted our food distribution two days ago and it all went well thanks to a local donation of high protein food for children made by SCMS – an international NGO distributing pharmaceutical products for HIV patients.
We’re confident the local committees have the capacity to distribute large quantities of food and we’re taking measures to guard against any kind of hoarding and prejudice against women and children.
We have bought several tonnes of food from the Dominican Republic for distribution tomorrow but will be exploring local food sources from small farmers’ cooperatives outside Port-au-Prince so that aid efforts don’t damage local prices over the coming months.
Although ActionAid doesn’t normally work in the field of medicine, lots of people are dying due to lack of medical care. Many are dying from simple wounds which have become septic or gangrenous and there is a lack of antibiotics, bandages, syringes and plaster for castes.
Red Cross and ActionAid have begun talks on how they can work together through the voluntary committees which have sprung up inside the camps to guarantee medical attention.
Sarah's reports can be accessed, along with other aid workers' dairies on the BBC website
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We urgently need your help to stop this terrible disaster from turning into a long-term catastrophe. We have set up Emergency Appeal pages where you can help the thousands of Haitians who desperately need your support:
- In Brazil
- In the United Kingdom
If you live in the UK, you can also donate through the multi-agency "Disaster Emergency Committee" (DEC) - In the United States
- In Italy
- In Australia
- In Spain
- In Sweden
