At a glance: Haiti
Newsline
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lionel 'Leo' Messi visits earthquake-ravaged Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 16 July 2010 – For the people of Port-au-Prince, the last six months have been fraught with difficulties in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake that left their lives in shambles. But while the images out of Haiti still show displacement and poverty, they were replaced yesterday – at least for a few hours – by a sense of uncontainable excitement, as Haitians poured into the streets to greet UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lionel ‘Leo’ Messi.
Podcast #27: Educating Haiti’s children, six months on
NEW YORK, USA, 12 July 2010 – Today marks the six-month anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti, killing more than 220,000, displacing many more and severely affecting the education system.
Olympic Gold Medallist Yuna Kim, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, thanks Haiti donors
NEW YORK, USA, 9 July 2010 – UNICEF is delighted to announce the appointment of international figure-skating star Yuna Kim as its newest Goodwill Ambassador. In a special video message marking her appointment. Ms. Kim thanks donors who have supported a cause she herself holds dear: UNICEF's earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti.
UNICEF photojournalist Marta Ramoneda documents recovery efforts in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 9 July 2010 – It has been six months since a devastating earthquake killed over 220,000 people and disrupted the lives of millions more in Haiti. UNICEF freelance photographer Marta Ramoneda recently returned from a two-week trip to the Caribbean nation, where she documented the recovery efforts now under way there.
Six months on, UNICEF reviews Haiti quake-relief milestones, and looks forward
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 12 July 2010 – Six months after the earthquake that ravaged Haiti on 12 January, UNICEF has released a detailed report chronicling relief efforts to date. Titled ‘Children of Haiti: Milestones and looking forward at six months,’ the report begins by implicitly asking the question: What did not happen following the earthquake?
On the ground in Haiti, after the quake
NEW YORK, USA, 9 July 2010 – Kent Page left New York for Port-au-Prince on 20 January, just over a week after the earthquake that shattered Haiti’s most densely populated areas – and the lives of its most vulnerable children. He had been asked to leave his UNICEF headquarters post for a month-long assignment as the agency’s chief media spokesperson in the Haitian capital.
Protecting mothers and newborns from HIV and AIDS in post-quake Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 30 June 2010 – Jeanne (not her real name) looks lovingly at her baby daughter Marie and carefully covers her cot with a mosquito net. She is sitting in the living room of a relative’s home in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, in the heat of the afternoon. For Jeanne, the birth of Marie in May was an extraordinary event.
In post-earthquake Haiti, children's voices are integrated into reconstruction effort
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 21 June 2010 – Over the buzz of children chatting excitedly in Creole, nine-year-old Marie-Ange hunches over her poster paper, meticulously tracing the outline of a school. “This is the school of my dreams,” she says.
Call centre responds to needs of separated children in Haitian quake zone
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 15 June 2010 – “Hello, Separated Children Call Centre, how can I help you?” an operator asked. “Where exactly did you say the child is currently? He is at the health Centre? Did the child come by himself or was he brought in by someone? Thank you for calling – we will dispatch two case workers who will arrive at the centre in 30 minutes.”
Child-friendly space helps protect young survivors of Haiti earthquake
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 21 May 2010 – Over 100 young voices rise in harmony to affirm a common sentiment. “Sa ki pa nan espas n’ap voye yo ale,” they sing in Haitian Creole. “Those that do not belong in this space should be out of this place.”
Judith's story: In the face of grief, education brings hope in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 14 May 2010 – On the day of the quake, Ms. Lambert, our school director, sent us home early. I usually stayed after class to help clean the trash in the schoolyard. But that day, Ms. Lambert had heard that not far from our school a university teacher had been killed and there was fear of rioting. She insisted that we rush home and not linger on the streets.
Social mobilizers throughout Haiti spread the word about vaccines
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 12 May 2010 – Haiti is still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the devastating 12 January earthquake, which claimed more than 200,000 lives, destroyed schools, homes, and water and sanitation systems, and left more than 1 million people homeless.
Field diary: Returning to Haiti, UNICEF staffer finds hope
PANAMA CITY, Panama, 5 May 2010 – I have just returned from Haiti, my first visit there since witnessing the indescribable destruction just after the 12 January earthquake.
Vaccination Week of the Americas targets 44 countries, including Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 5 May 2010 – Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are wrapping up the annual Vaccination Week of the Americas, an initiative covering 44 countries and territories in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In Haiti alone, an estimated 60,000 children under the age of five were immunized last week.
Two best friends survive the Haiti earthquake and talk about life in camps for the displaced
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 28 April 2010 – Miratson Guerrier and Ricardo Rocourt have been best friends for as long as they can remember. But when the 12 January earthquake destroyed each of their homes, they also became neighbours.
Creating a Haiti fit for children, three months after the earthquake
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 9 April 2010 – As Haiti slowly moves forward after the 12 January earthquake, UNICEF is set to release a comprehensive report taking stock of humanitarian efforts on behalf of the children of Haiti.
Education brings hope to Haiti’s children: ‘Let us not lose any more’
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 8 April 2010 – From the hillsides around Port-au-Prince one can just see the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, tranquil in the bright sunlight. The ascending streets are bustling, energized by the frenetic traffic, the shouts of street vendors, and the masses of people going somewhere or coming from somewhere. It could be a normal day in this city of some 2 million.
UNICEF distributes early childhood development kits in Jacmel, Haiti
JACMEL, Haiti, 6 April 2010 – When the earthquake shook the mountains outside this port city in southern Haiti on 12 January, rural schools throughout the area were destroyed or damaged. Not only were classes cancelled for the short term, but looking ahead, parents were afraid to send their children back into damaged classrooms that they feared might collapse.
A nationwide call to return to school brings hope to children in Haiti
JACMEL, Haiti, 5 April 2010 – Almost three months after the massive 12 January earthquake that devastated the country, the Haitian Ministry of Education, with the support of UNICEF and its partners, has issued a nationwide call for children to return to school.
'A Haiti Fit for Children'
NEW YORK, 31 March 2010 – Six international aid organizations met in a public session at UNICEF headquarters yesterday, planning ways to make children the focus of rebuilding Haiti in the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake.
Field Diary: Camp's children excited about return to learning in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 31 March, 2010 – You only have to mention the word 'school' and a sparkle comes into Taïma Celestin's dark brown eyes. It's not hard to understand why. The scheduled reopening of Haiti's schools on 5 April will be the first real opportunity for this confident 10-year-old to leave what is today her home – a tiny lean-to covered with a blue tarpaulin in a former sports ground in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince.
Rescued by a neighbour, a young Haitian earthquake survivor dreams of normalcy
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 29 March 2010 – When the earth began to shake on 12 January 12, Rachel Lunique, 17, sprinted out the door of her family's second-floor apartment. Rachel was just a few steps from the safety of the street, when she heard the desperate cries of the woman in the apartment next to hers.
After the earthquake, protecting Haitian women and girls from violence
ANSE-A-PITRE, Haiti, 29 March 2010 – The effects of the earthquake that struck Haiti some two and a half months ago have reverberated across the country. Both in and beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, progress made in tackling long-standing human rights issues – including the problem of gender-based violence against women and girls – seems a distant memory.
UNICEF works to reunite children with their families in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 24 March 2010 – We met eight-year-old Jefferson (not his real name) at a reception centre in the heart of Haiti’s shattered capital. Jefferson had spent two weeks at the centre, one of perhaps thousands of children who became separated from their families in the aftermath of the massive earthquake of January 12.
Former US President Bill Clinton praises crisis response by UN and UNICEF in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 24 March 2010 – During a visit to Haiti yesterday, former US President and UN special envoy Bill Clinton praised the United Nations for its response to the devastating 12 January earthquake, saying now was the time to help the country escape its impoverished past and build a better future.
Carnegie Hall concert by Lang Lang benefits UNICEF’s Haiti earthquake response
NEW YORK, USA, 22 March 2010 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and world-renowned pianist Lang Lang gave a special performance for a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall in New York to benefit UNICEF’s emergency response to the earthquake in Haiti.
'Beyond School Books' - a podcast series on education in emergencies
NEW YORK, USA, 17 March 2010 – The earthquake that shook Chile on 27 February reportedly killed hundreds of people and caused widespread damage to homes, hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure.
Field Diary: Tent schools provide a refuge for quake-affected Haitian children
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 15 March 2010 – In and around Haiti’s devastated capital city, UNICEF-supported ‘tent schools' are opening for children affected by the 12 January earthquake.
Field Diary: A family reunited after the earthquake in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 12 March 2010 – On assignment as a UNICEF photographer in Haiti, I had the pleasure of meeting five-year-old Sterling Vincent – a child who had been separated from her family in the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake. I only came to know her over two days, and yet her joy, grit and determination will stay with me forever.
After the quake, Haiti braces for storm season
NEW YORK, 10 March 2010 - As Haiti begins to dig itself out of the rubble of January's earthquake, UNICEF and its partners there are preparing to face another challenge – the rainy season.
Children central to recovery and development after the earthquake in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 9 March 2010 – At the Automeca Hyundai lot, tents, tarpaulins and cloths slung across wooden sticks compete for space with the damaged shells of sedans, pick-up trucks and SUVs. What was once a car dealership is now an encampment for more than 15,000 Haitians, many of them children.
Amidst the rubble, Haiti celebrates International Women’s Day
JACMEL, Haiti, 9 March, 2010 – Women have been hit hard by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. But they are not alone.
Protecting HIV-positive mothers and their children after the quake in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 2 March 2010 – Jeanne (not her real name) sat on a mattress in her tent in a makeshift settlement for displaced people that has sprung up in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. As the afternoon sun burned through the plastic walls of the tent, she told her story.
Field Diary: A long-term commitment to children affected by the earthquake in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 25 February 2010 – I arrived in this country after the earthquake as part of an emergency team, and today is the last day of my assignment here.
Reaching the most remote Haitian earthquake survivors with safe water
LEOGANE, Haiti 26 February 2010 – Simple plastic buckets and inexpensive water-purification tablets are being used to provide safe drinking water to people living in the mountains outside Leogane, an area that was close to the epicentre of the earthquake that struck Haiti in January.
Providing water and sanitation for earthquake survivors beyond Haiti’s capital
LEOGANE, Haiti, 24 February 2010 – Pierre Fuijee used to be a lawyer in the small town of Leogane, an hour’s drive from the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. But like many others in the town, he lost everything in the 12 January earthquake.
Young people enlisted to help meet sanitary needs in quake-stricken Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 22 February 2010 – Sanitation is among the most urgent concerns in Haiti following January’s earthquake. UNICEF estimates that overall, 1.1 million displaced people require emergency latrines. The agency and its partners plan to install over 10,000 latrines in the short term and another 20,000-plus within six months.
A Haitian father's account of the earthquake and its aftermath
FOND PARISIEN, Haiti, 19 February 2010 – Dieuveil Marcelin Aristide and his son Lemark, 12, are encamped in a small tent with a dozen other strangers located some 50 km from their former home in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.
Field Diary: Children’s ward treats Haitian quake survivors in the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, 18 February 2010 – The moment I arrived at the children's ward at Dario Contreras Hospital, I heard cries from the wounded. About a dozen injured young people lay in one room, some crammed two to a bed. Some had a parent by their side, some were alone.
‘Baby tents’ offer quake-affected Haitian mothers a safe place to breastfeed
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 18 February 2010—Amidst the collapsed buildings and temporary camps of this battered city stand 12 special tents dedicated to providing mothers and their infant children a safe and calm place to breastfeed.
Tent classrooms and school kits help restart education in Haiti’s quake zone
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 17 February 2010 – The first day of school in a UNICEF tent classroom was a happy day for Yolanda Senatus, 9 – and a far cry from the tragic day she had experienced just a month earlier.
Rebuilding childhood in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 16 February 2010 – An estimated 1.26 million children – approximately 700,000 of them school-aged – have been directly affected by the earthquake in Haiti. They urgently need support and assistance to rebuild their lives.
A month after the quake, massive aid effort continues for Haitian children and families
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 12 February 2010 – A month after the 12 January earthquake that levelled densely populated areas of Haiti, UNICEF Director of Emergency Operations Louis-George Arsenault travels by helicopter over the cities of Port -Au-Prince and Leogane, and on to the southern port of Jacmel.
Volunteers provide psycho-social support to young Haitian quake survivors
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, 11 February 2010 – In hospital after hospital, and tent after tent, Haitian boys and girls with broken or amputated limbs lie on mattresses, unable to run around and play. Their casts are awkward and they’re crammed for space.
UNICEF and partners promote infant and young child nutrition in post-quake Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 10 February 2010 – Under normal circumstances, February is Carnival time here in the Haitian capital, including its centrally located park, Champs de Mars.
UNICEF and partners deliver essential supplies to Haiti’s most vulnerable children
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 9 February 2010 – Four weeks after the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and other parts of Haiti, the capital’s Louverture International Airport never sleeps. Supply flights arrive 24 hours a day with essential aid for the hundreds of thousands left homeless by the quake, including the most vulnerable survivors: orphaned and separated children.
UNICEF scales up its supply effort to reach every Haitian child in need
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 8 February 2010 – On a dusty, hot day here in the Haitian capital late last week, UNICEF’s new logistics hub was buzzing. Fifty people were loading trucks with hygiene kits for immediate dispatch to quake-stricken communities in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel.
Meeting the changing health needs of children affected by the earthquake in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 8 February 2010 – Dr. Gerlant Van Berlaer is a paediatrician with B-Fast, a Belgian non-governmental organization and UNICEF partner specializing in rapid medical deployment to large-scale emergencies. His team arrived in Port-au-Prince one day after the 12 January earthquake, setting up a field hospital complete with surgical suite on the grounds of the Laboratoire National de Santé Publique.
UNICEF Executive Director meets quake-affected children and families in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 5 February 2010 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman visited the Haitian capital yesterday, meeting with UNICEF staff, g overnment leaders and survivors of the massive earthquake that struck here on 12 January.
Haitian-American doctor cares for families evacuated to Dominican Republic
JIMANI, Dominican Republic, 4 February 2010 – Down a dusty dirt road, amidst small houses, grazing goats and dirt yards, there’s an oatmeal-coloured cement church. Inside, the chairs are pushed back to the walls, the polished wooden pews are lined up in rows at the far side, and people are resting on ragged mattresses on the floor.
UNICEF and partners increase access to safe water in Haitian quake zone
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 3 February 2010 – Safe water is flowing in earthquake-affected areas of Haiti. Overall, UNICEF and its partners are now distributing more than 2.6 million litres of drinking water daily to over half a million people here in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and in the cities of Leogane and Jacmel.
UNICEF and partners launch immunization campaign in Haiti quake zone
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 3 February 2010 – Magalie grimaces as the needle pierces her skin, and her four-year-old son screams as it pierces his. Despite the pain, this needle has the potential to save both of their lives – and right now, their lives are precarious.
Radio provides a vital link to families amidst the children's emergency in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 2 February 2010 – A cacophony of songs and voices drifts from the tented camp as thousands of handheld radios transmit entertainment and, more important, information.
High-profile UNICEF supporters raise Haiti relief funds and awareness
NEW YORK, USA, 5 February 2010 – Best-selling author and one-time child soldier Ishmael Beah, and long-time Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, are among the latest UNICEF supporters to add their voices to the worldwide appeal for donations to help children in Haiti, in the wake of the 12 January earthquake there.
Focus on Haiti: A UNICEF photographer bears witness to the children's emergency
NEW YORK, USA, 1 February 2010 – Award-winning freelance photographer Roger LeMoyne has been taking pictures for UNICEF since 1990, and has spent a great deal of time on assignment in Haiti. He was one of the first photographers to arrive in the country after the earthquake struck on 12 January.
A day in the life of UNICEF staff members on the ground in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 1 February 2010 – UNICEF has maintained a presence in Haiti since 1949. The earthquake that struck this country with such disastrous force on 12 January has significantly affected the agency’s capacity to respond, but staff members have been adapting to difficult conditions on the ground.
On both sides of the border, essential aid and safe water for Haitian families
JIMANI, Dominican Republic, 29 January 2010 – A wide-open space the size of a football pitch looks like just the place for a group of children to kick around a soccer ball. Instead, the gated property of the Buen Samaritano hospital is filled with rows of blood-stained mattresses and sheltered by makeshift tents, which are no more than sheets stretched over sticks.
Helping Haiti's orphaned and separated children find their families
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 29 January 2010 – Rodrigue wipes away his tears and carries on talking. It's an astounding act of bravery for the 12-year-old Haitian boy, who saw his parents die in the 12 January earthquake here.
UNICEF overcomes logistical challenges to help hundreds of thousands in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 28 January 2010 – More than two weeks after a powerful earthquake struck Haiti, UNICEF's emergency relief effort is reaching hundreds of thousands of survivors. As of last night, 13 planes had brought health, nutrition, and water-and-sanitation supplies to Haiti and the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
Return from Haiti: UNICEF staffer reflects on the children’s emergency
PANAMA CITY, Panama, 28 January 2010 – After a week in Port-au-Prince immediately following the earthquake, it was time for me to return home. Entering the city had been an ordeal; leaving was just as stressful.
Reaching young survivors with health and nutrition aid in Haiti's quake zone
JACMEL, Haiti, 27 January 2010 – In parts of Haiti devastated by the earthquake that struck on 12 January – including the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as the southern port city of Jacmel and other localities – UNICEF is reaching children with life-saving support.
UNICEF and partners provide safe water for Haitian children and families
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 26 January 2010 – Two weeks after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, UNICEF continues to reach children with life-saving support, including urgently needed safe water.
In Jacmel, a young Haitian filmmaker documents the earthquake's aftermath
NEW YORK, USA, 26 January 2010 – Jean Bernard Bayard, 29, is a second-year film student at Ciné Institute, the only film school in the southern port city of Jacmel, Haiti. Since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January, Mr. Bayard and other film students have used their cameras to document the events and stories unfolding around them.
Charlie's ride: London boy, 7, gets on his bike to raise £150,000-plus for Haiti appeal
LONDON, United Kingdom, 26 January 2010 – In a stirring example of the generosity seen worldwide in the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, Charlie Simpson, 7, has raised tens of thousands of British pounds for children in Haiti by completing a five-mile sponsored cycle around his local park.
To help Haiti’s children heal, build back education better than before
NEW YORK, USA, 25 January 2010 – With nearly half of the country's population under the age of 18, children have been significantly affected by the 12 January earthquake in Haiti. Schools have been destroyed, and children are taking shelter in camps for the displaced. Many have been orphaned or separated from their families.
UNICEF and Haitian volunteers working together to protect children at risk
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 25 January 2010 – UN representatives and leaders from 15 nations are meeting today in Montreal, Canada, to discuss the long-term reconstruction of earthquake-shattered Haiti – with the aim of building back better than before.
A young Haitian earthquake survivor uses art to cope with disaster
NEW YORK, USA, 22 January 2010 – Until their home was destroyed in last week’s earthquake, Bruno Rene, 18, lived with his mother in the southern Haitian port city of Jacmel. Since then, Bruno, an aspiring artist, has been working on art projects to cope with the impact of the disaster.
Crisis response continues in Haiti, with an eye on challenges that pre-date the quake
NEW YORK, USA, 24 January 2010 – Aid is reaching children in parts of Haiti devastated by the 12 January earthquake, but huge humanitarian challenges remain. Many of the disaster’s worst effects – including its impact on child health and safety – are aggravated by the country’s longstanding impoverishment and instability.
The stars come out for Haiti relief
NEW YORK, USA, 23 January 2009 – The two-hour, star-powered ‘Hope for Haiti Now’ global concert benefiting Haiti earthquake relief – broadcast last night – featured more than 100 artists, many of whom have shown a long-time commitment to supporting UNICEF’s work in emergencies.
Young, injured Haitian quake survivors cross Dominican border for treatment
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, 21 January 2010 – Nine days after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, UNICEF is delivering life-saving support to children and families in need. Several planeloads of aid have landed in Haiti and the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Half a dozen more supply flights are scheduled to arrive before the end of the week.
Sebastien’s story: A young Haitian earthquake survivor speaks
NEW YORK, USA, 21 January 2010 – The earthquake in Haiti has wiped out the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people and crippled essential services for some 3 million Haitians from all walks of life – ranging from the desperately poor to middle-class and the affluent.
Delivering supplies and protecting children in the Haiti earthquake zone
NEW YORK, USA, 20 January 2010 – A powerful aftershock struck Haiti early this morning, adding to the stress of children and families affected by the 12 January earthquake there but apparently causing little further damage. Relief operations are ongoing.
Field Diary: Supplies and protection for unaccompanied children in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 19 January 2010 – One week has gone by since an earthquake turned what was already a desperately poor part of the world into a full-fledged humanitarian emergency. The race against time to bring relief to the people of Haiti continues.
UNICEF concerned for the safety of Haiti’s most vulnerable children
NEW YORK, USA, 19 January 2010 – The earthquake that struck Haiti a week ago has left many thousands of children orphaned, lost or separated from their families – and vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Donors worldwide support Haiti relief efforts of UNICEF and partners
NEW YORK, USA, 19 January 2010 – As the full magnitude of the crisis in Haiti continues to unfold, donors have rushed to provide UNICEF with funding to meet the needs of children and families at risk.
UN Secretary-General visits Haiti as emergency supply efforts continue
NEW YORK, USA, 18 January 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other UN and government officials visited stricken areas of Port-au-Prince yesterday, amidst continuing international efforts to help 3 million people – perhaps half of them children – affected by the 12 January earthquake in Haiti.
Field Diary: Notes from a tent hospital in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 17 January 2010 – This morning I went to visit a field hospital set up at the UN mission's logistical base here in Port-au-Prince. The hospital consists of two giant tents filled with Haitians wounded during the earthquake.
UNICEF steps up efforts to protect child health and safety in Haiti quake zone
NEW YORK, USA, 17 January 2010 – Thousands have died, an unknown number are injured and an estimated 300,000 are homeless following the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince and other densely populated areas of Haiti on 12 January, affecting a total of more than 3 million people.
UN and UNICEF launch aid appeal to overcome massive challenges in Haiti quake zone
NEW YORK, USA, 15 January 2010 – The people of Port-au-Prince and other areas affected by this week's devastating earthquake in Haiti are living outdoors, surrounded by the ruins of their homes. Picking through the rubble, they try to salvage what they can from a tragedy that defies comprehension.
Angélique Kidjo appeals for Haiti earthquake relief donations
NEW YORK, USA, 15 January 2010 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo has added her voice to the global call for donations to bring urgently needed assistance to the children of Haiti and their families. The singer and activist took time out from her European concert tour to record a fundraising appeal in Paris.
Aid begins to arrive in Haiti for earthquake survivors in dire need
NEW YORK, USA, 14 January 2010 – UNICEF is part of a massive international relief effort now under way to assist up to 3.5 million people affected by Tuesday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti.
Supplies on the way to survivors of the earthquake in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 13 January 2010 – The first shipment of UNICEF supplies for survivors of yesterday’s devastating earthquake is on its way to Haiti. The emergency aid is urgently needed, as basic services and infrastructure in the western hemisphere’s poorest nation were already close to collapse even before the 7.0-magnitude quake struck.
UNICEF gears up relief efforts for earthquake-stricken Haiti
PANAMA CITY, Panama, 13 January 2010 – Despite heavy damages to its own offices in Port-au-Prince, UNICEF is ready to provide immediate support to the victims of the unfolding humanitarian crisis following the earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday.
Angélique Kidjo launches new campaign with Pampers to help eliminate tetanus
PARIS, France, 28 September 2009 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Grammy-winning world music artist Angélique Kidjo has launched ‘Give the Gift of Life’, a new campaign with Pampers to help eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) by 2012.
Haiti prepares for another hurricane season
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 8 September 2009 – Several tropical depressions have already formed in the Caribbean this summer, but Haiti is better prepared today than in 2008, when four major hurricanes slammed into the island.
UNICEF and ECHO prepare for a new storm season in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 4 June 2009 – This year’s Atlantic storm season began on Monday and many forecasters are expecting that it will not be as intense as last year, which saw 16 tropical storms and eight hurricanes.
Amid last year’s destruction, Haiti braces for another hurricane season
GONAÏVES, Haiti, 16 March 2009 – As Haiti braces for another hurricane season, UNICEF Representative in Haiti Annamaria Laurini recently surveyed Gonaïves, the country’s third largest city, to evaluate its emergency preparedness. She was accompanied on the visit by UNICEF Emergency Operations Chief Lucia Elmi.
A lifeline for mothers in a Port-au-Prince hospital
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 12 January 2009 – In the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, no one struggles harder than the women trying to support their families.
UNICEF nominee Paul Farmer receives CDC Foundation Hero Award
NEW YORK, USA, 10 October 2008 – Dr. Paul Farmer, a tireless activist, researcher and public health practitioner whose organization, Partners in Health, provides community-based care for millions of people throughout the developing world, has received the 2008 Hero Award from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia.
Haiti’s flood-damaged schools struggle to reopen
GONAIVES, Haiti, 3 October 2008 – Venette and her sister arrived at their school around mid-morning. They were handed a shovel. Then they joined a crew of mud-splattered men and waded into what used to be their cafeteria.
After the storms: Field diary from flood-stricken Gonaïves, Haiti
GONAÏVES, Haiti, 25 September 2008 – I have worked in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1994 to 2000 and have visited Haiti several times during that period. As I landed in Port au Prince this time around, I saw that after more than eight years the situation of poverty and despair has not changed much. Misery can be seen everywhere. Children are begging and women are trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to sell some homemade products.
Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow urges tsunami-like response in Haiti’s disaster zones
GONAÏVES, Haiti, 22 September 2008 – Looking down from helicopter at the devastation wrought by a month of hurricanes and catastrophic flooding, actress Mia Farrow made an immediate comparison.
Delivering life-saving aid to hurricane-affected children and families in Haiti
GONAÏVES, Haiti, 17 September 2008 – Fernando Thermidor has the look of a toddler who is all cried out as he buries his tear-stained face in his mother’s shoulder.
Storms batter the Caribbean, displacing thousands of children and their families
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 5 September 2008 – Over 200 people are dead and nearly 600,000 urgently need help after a series of storms that have battered Haiti over the past three weeks, according to UN officials. And there may be more storms to come.
Executive Director visits UNICEF-supported projects on first official visit to Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 7 January 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman has just completed her first trip to Haiti, the country with the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality in the Western Hemisphere.
Partners In Health: Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 6 December 2007 – In Haiti, where 2.2 per cent of the adult population is living with HIV, according to the latest Demographic and Health Survey, care and prevention are urgent issues. The Zanmi Lasante (‘Partners In Health’ in Haitian Creole) project is actively working to reduce the number of new infections, with a special focus on curbing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Basketball star Sam Dalembert brings hope and encouragement to Haitian children
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 25 September 2007 – US National Basketball Association star and Philadelphia 76ers centre Samuel Dalembert has just completed a one-week visit to his native country, Haiti, where he spread the message of hope and encouragement to thousands of vulnerable children and women.
Breaking the cycle of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 30 July 2007 – Della lives in an isolated village in the Northwest Department, an arid and mostly barren region that is among the poorest of Haiti’s 10 departments. It is in this economically challenged area that the young mother is raising her four daughters while preparing for the birth of her fifth.
UNICEF and partners help child domestic workers in Haiti regain their rights
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 20 April 2007 – Andre does not know his real name nor how old he is. His mother died when he was young and he says he was sent to work for another family because his father was unable to take care of him.
Dropping guns for books in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 21 September 2006 – A back-to-school campaign has brought new hope to the children of Cité Soleil, the seaside slum in the Haitian capital that has long been regarded as one of most violent neighbourhoods in the whole Western Hemisphere.
Football helps Ivna Chérie, 11, forget violence in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – On a sweltering Saturday morning when many Haitians are staying out of the sun, Ivna Chérie is playing football with her schoolmates on the marram pitch of a dilapidated stadium outside the capital, Port-Au-Prince.
Schools reopen in Bel Air, bringing hope and stability to Haitian children scarred by violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 31 March 2006 – Sitting in rows of four on benches newly provided by UNICEF, young girls and boys fill classrooms in the schools of Port-au-Prince’s rundown suburb of Bel Air. And you can read the joy and excitement on their faces.
Haiti’s children still struggling for survival
NEW YORK, USA, 21 March 2006 – Haiti’s children are facing a continuing struggle for survival, with one in eight likely to die before the age of five. A lack of basic services such as water, health care and education are compounded by poverty and violence, locking children into a cycle of deprivation and abuse.
Haiti’s President-elect René Préval pledges to put children on top of political agenda
NEW YORK, USA, 20 February 2006 – Haiti’s new President-elect, René Préval, has announced that he intends to put children on top of his political agenda. "Children must be taken off the streets. Weapons must be taken from the hands of children and replaced with pens and books," said President Préval during a broadcast aired by AFP, the French news agency.
Haiti: Grim reality for street children
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 27 December 2005 – Homeless children stand in the middle of a busy street in order to stop passing cars and beg passengers for money. This scene has become far too common in many neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.
Haiti: Paediatric HIV treatments are saving children’s lives
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 18 October 2005 - Like any boy, 7-year-old Samson Verneret enjoys playing with his favourite toys. But unlike other children his age, Samson is living with HIV.
‘Xchange’ helps children escape from cycle of poverty and violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 14 October 2005 – In many parts of this city, Haiti’s capital, armed gangs recruit children for use as messengers, or to commit crimes. The gangs lure the children with money and food – which are hard to come by for many who live in the poverty-stricken neighbourhood of Cité Soleil. But once in a gang, children are coerced to fight other gangs or carry out illegal acts, with a beating or worse as punishment if they refuse.
A home for a child orphaned by Hurricane Jeanne
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26 September 2005 – “When Hurricane Jeanne hit Gonaives [one year ago], my home was destroyed and both my parents died,” said Daniel Joseph, 11. With no one to turn to for help, Daniel went to Port-au-Prince, the capital.
One year after Hurricane Jeanne, recovery continues
GONAIVES, Haiti, 18 September 2005 – One year ago Hurricane Jeanne slammed into this coastal town, causing flooding and mudslides, leaving over 2,500 people dead or unaccounted for and severely affecting 300,000 more, including at least 150,000 children.
Reaching children with life-saving vaccines
Port-au-Prince, 25 June 2004 - “This is the heart of the immunization campaign in Haiti,” says UNICEF Immunization Officer Enrique Cuevas as we enter the dimly lit warehouse. The cool room offers a nice contrast to the hot summer day.
Haiti Launches Vaccination Week
Millions of children across the Americas will be vaccinated this week as part of an unprecedented campaign led by UNICEF. “Vaccination: an act of love,” will aim to reach the most isolated and vulnerable children in countries such as Haiti where basic health care is badly lacking.
