USAID/DART ASSESSMENT OF HUMANITARIAN CONDITIONS IN

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000112 AIDAC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PINR PREL PREF HA SUBJECT: USAID/DART ASSESSMENT OF HUMANITARIAN CONDITIONS IN CARREFOUR HOSPITAL AND CAMP REF: PORT A 76; PORT A 100 ¶1. (U) Summary. On January 28, staff from USAID/Haiti visited the Seventh Day Adventist Diquini Hospital in Carrefour, noting that although doctors continue to treat earthquake-related injuries, the number of surgeries per day has gradually decreased from 30 to 15. A recently donated surgical cache funded by USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) has improved the hospital's ability to respond to post-earthquake medical needs. On January 30, a water and sanitation specialist from USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) assessed conditions at the Adventist Hospital and university campus, which houses 12,000 displaced persons during the day and approximately 20,000 at night. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to construct latrines, hand-washing stations, showers, and refuse disposal pits to meet sanitation and hygiene needs for the population. Lead NGO Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) reports sufficient water supplies at the site and ongoing efforts to expand on-site water sources and water treatment capability. End Summary. -------------- HOSPITAL CONDITIONS -------------- ¶2. (U) The Seventh Day Adventist Diquini Hospital, located the Carrefour suburb of Port-au-Prince, is staffed by approximately 100 individuals. Following the January 12 earthquake, the Hospital was one of the first hospitals to have surgical capability, augmented by a number of international volunteer doctors and orthopedic surgeons. Following the influx of patients with earthquake-related injuries, the 71-bed hospital reported critically low medical supplies, and requested surgical tools, sterilization equipment, and disposable medical supplies. ¶3. (U) Following a January 28 visit, USAID/Haiti health program staff reported that, although doctors continue to treat earthquake-related injuries, the number of surgeries per day has gradually decreased from 30 to 15 since January 24. USAID staff also noted dozens of tents on hospital grounds, housing an estimated 700 post-operative patients. ¶4. (U) On January 21, the Adventist Hospital received a USAID/OFDA-funded International Medical Surgical Response Team (IMSuRT) equipment and supply cache valued at $1 million. According to doctors, the donation - containing surgical tools, bandages, and orthopedic, thoracic, and amputation kits - has been a vital component, allowing the hospital to respond to more than twice the normal caseload. -------------- SETTLEMENT AT ADVENTIST UNIVERISTY -------------- ¶5. (U) On January 30, the USAID/DART water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) advisor conducted an assessment at the Adventist Hospital and University in Carrefour. In addition to post-operative tents at the hospital, displaced families formed a settlement (camp) on the university grounds, hosting a daytime population of approximately 12,000 people and a nighttime population of approximately 20,000 people. The camp is divided into 12 sections, which are currently serviced by three NGOs - ADRA, Medical Teams International, and Save the Children (SC). -------------- WATER -------------- ¶6. (U) ADRA staff report sufficient water supply at the Adventist University settlement; however, the hospital's water supply is irregular and requires improvements. A spring has been diverted to fill a swimming pool on campus, where purification units treat the water before distribution. The USAID/DART WASH advisor noted that NGOs have distributed aquatabs and placed portable filtration units throughout the campus to make safe drinking water easily accessible to those collecting water from the university's untreated pipe system. ¶8. (U) ADRA reports that the hospital's cistern is filled with untreated spring water, which flows regularly during the morning, but ceases in the afternoon. USAID/OFDA has facilitated delivery of bottled water to the hospital through the International Organization for Migration (IOM),in addition to bottled water previously delivered by the U.S. military. ADRA indicated that the hospital is working to improve access to on-site water sources to eliminate the need for continued water delivery. ¶9. (U) As part of the effort to reduce the hospital's dependency on bottled water, ADRA plans to service the hospital cistern with a USAID/OFDA-funded water purification unit, valued at $55,000, which can produce 15 liters of safe drinking water per person for approximately 10,000 people per day. On January 30, the USAID/DART WASH advisor also provided ADRA with a sufficient quantity of chlorine to clean the cistern and treat unpurified water at the settlement for several months. -------------- SANITATION AND HYGIENE -------------- ¶10. (U) At the Adventist University settlement, ADRA and SC are working to construct latrine blocks, showers, and trash collection areas throughout the campus. NGOs report that a local official in the camp helps coordinate volunteer laborers for latrine construction and other activities. As of January 31, NGOs had completed approximately 20 of 60 initially planned latrines on campus, noting that ADRA recently rented a backhoe to hasten the process. In the coming months, ADRA plans to increase the total number of latrines to 200. ¶11. (U) Although the USAID/DART WASH advisor reported individuals bathing with soap, no hand washing was observed. NGOs indicated that hand washing stations were planned at each of the latrine blocks, though the construction has not yet begun. In addition, due to recent reports of harassment of women using sanitation facilities at night, NGOs are installing lighting around latrine and shower areas. -------------- FUTURE PLANS -------------- ¶12. (U) ADRA expects the majority of camp residents to remain displaced for three to six months. Following debris removal and the onset of the early recovery phase, NGOs in the camp plan to assist families with the construction of semi-permanent housing and latrines at the sites of previous residences. ADRA also noted that families have indicated a preference for constructing semi-permanent housing with wood, rather than concrete, due to widespread fear of future earthquakes and building collapse. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED MERTEN