Little Victories for Children in Haiti Recovery
Haiti, Two years on
Two years after the earthquake that devastated parts of Haiti, the situation for children in the country is slowly improving, though challenges remain.
UNICEF is still working tirelessly for the children of Haiti, and will be there for as long as the children need us. Thanks to donor support, UNICEF played a key role in the following results:
- >750,000 children returned to school;
- 80,000 children now attend classes in 193 new safe, earthquake-resistant schools;
- >15,000 malnourished children received life-saving care in 314 therapeutic feeding programmes;
- >120,000 children enjoy structured play in one of 520 child friendly spaces;
- >13,400 children have been registered, helping protect their rights;
- 95 rural communities have launched new programmes to improve sanitation.
“Make no mistake: the country remains a fragile state, beset by chronic poverty and under-development. Its weak institutions leave children vulnerable to shocks and the impact of disaster”.
The report notes that with 4,316,000 children under 18, most of them still only have limited opportunities for survival, development and protection. Although they begin 2012 with a long-awaited new government and national budget, children are affected by the various challenges which remain for a country where the scars of disaster are still visible on the infrastructure, institutions and social systems.
More than 500,000 individuals still shelter in over 800 different displacement sites across the earthquake-affected area. Some 77 per cent were renters before the earthquake, meaning most have no homes to return to. An outbreak of cholera in the earthquake’s wake continues to place an additional burden on already severely limited infrastructure and services.
“The country will need strong and steadfast support to overcome the challenges it still faces,” said Gruloos-Ackermans. “While the death toll and destruction from the earthquake were unmatched in modern times, the resources mobilised in the wake of disaster were also exceptional,” she added. “Together they present a ‘once a lifetime’ opportunity to set Haiti on a course that arrests and reverses decades of degradation and mismanagement.”
UNICEF, in the last year of its “transitional programme” for earthquake recovery, continues to implement a mix of humanitarian relief, capacity development for institutional re-building and advocacy simultaneously, in order to address both acute and chronic challenges that prevent the realisation of child rights. However, funding gaps still remain. UNICEF is appealing for US $24 million for immediate humanitarian needs in 2012 to support vulnerable children through five key projects in health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, and child protection. Another US $30 million is needed for longer term development assistance.
