USAID/DART AND USAID/HAITI ASSESSMENTS IN GONAIVES, JEREMIE,

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000172 AIDAC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PINR PREL PREF HA SUBJECT: USAID/DART AND USAID/HAITI ASSESSMENTS IN GONAIVES, JEREMIE, AND LES CAYES REF: PORT A 0098; PORT A 0136 ¶1. Summary. On February 15, USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) and USAID/Haiti staff conducted assessments of humanitarian conditions for displaced persons and host families in Gonaives, Artibonite Department; Jeremie, Grand-Anse Department; and Les Cayes, South Department; as well as a rapid health assessment in Jacmel, Southeast Department. The assessment findings will help inform further programming by USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP),particularly related to host family and community support. ¶2. Food and livelihood support remain priority needs in Artibonite Department, which currently hosts the highest number of displaced persons from Port-au-Prince, and Grand-Anse Department, where the displaced population has increased considerably in the last two weeks. In South Department, which hosts the second largest displaced population, insufficient shelter for displaced people without host families and reduced access to food due to declining remittances remain concerns. In all departments, the majority of displaced people reside with family members. Host families in Jeremie also require shelter assistance in order to extend living spaces to accommmodate the significant increase in household size. End Summary. ¶3. Note: A forthcoming SEPTEL will outline the findings from the February 15 Jacmel health assessment, as well as findings from a February 18 assessment of protection issues and spontaneous settlement conditions. End Note. -------------- -------------- Displacement figures, Hosting arrangements, and shelter needs -------------- -------------- ¶4. Gonaives: Municipal authorities and the Department of Civil Protection (DPC) preliminarily estimate the displaced population in Artibonite Department at 154,000 people, including between 30,000 and 35,800 people in Gonaives and 40,000 others in St. Marc municipality. While the majority of people displaced from metropolitan Port-au-Prince currently live with family and friends, a small number of people are residing in spontaneous settlements in St. Marc and Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite. ¶5. The DPC and municipal authorities, with support from USAID partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the U.N. World Food Program (WFP),continue to conduct an in-depth household survey in the Artibonite Department to confirm the number, current location, and priority needs of displaced persons and identify the number of school-aged children who require school enrollment. ¶6. The USAID assessment team in Gonaives noted that, in deference to lessons learned from the 2004 and 2008 hurricanes in Haiti, the DPC has expressed a preference for host family placement over camp construction, as camps reportedly remain cost-prohibitive, difficult to service, less socially acceptable and sustainable, and susceptible to protection and environmental issues. ¶7. Jeremie: The Emergency Committee for Grand-Anse Department reported to the assessment team a displaced population of 100,000 people as of February 15, a significant increase from the 55,000 individuals registered by the regional government and reported for several weeks following the earthquake. The committee indicated a pre-earthquake population of 350,000 people across all 12 communes. A significant majority of new arrivals, originally from the region, currently reside with immediate or extended family. The Emergency Committee reported no spontaneous settlement sites in the department. The towns of Jeremie and Pastel and surrounding villages host the highest numbers of displaced people in the department, with 23,250 and 21,000 individuals, respectively. ¶8. The assessment team met with staff from USAID partner the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) in Jeremie, who confirmed the Emergency Committee's statements regarding the number of displaced persons, the absence of spontaneous settlements, and the prevalence of hosting arrangements. According to HHF staff, the population in the Jeremie area has increased by one-third since the earthquake to reach 200,000 people at present. After arriving at the wharf in Jeremie town from Port-au-Prince, the majority of displaced persons immediately departed for surrounding villages to locate family, with only a limited number remaining in the town. The staff has observed displaced persons sleeping outside houses and in the marketplace in Jeremie due to limited remaining space in hosting households. ¶9. HHF staff also remarked on the significant increase in the average household size as a result of displacement to the Jeremie area. Since the earthquake, the average household size has increased from 7 people to 15 people, with some households hosting up to 20 additional people. During frequent visits to hosting communities, HHF staff observed the strain on physical structures and identified a critical need for shelter assistance that enables hosting families to extend houses. HHF staff recommended a composite material using sugarcane stocks or clay - both abundant in the area - for potential roofing materials. ¶10. The Grand-Anse Departmental Director and HHF staff noted a limited number of people returning to Port-au-Prince, primarily to assess property damage, salvage household items, and obtain food for host families, before journeying back to Grand-Anse. ¶11. Les Cayes: The assessment team reports a pre-earthquake population in South Department of approximately 800,000 people and the arrival of an estimated 116,000 people displaced from Port-au-Prince by the earthquake. Similar to other departments receiving earthquake-affected individuals from Port-au-Prince, a majority of displaced persons in South Department reside with host families. ¶12. According to a survey conducted by NGO Caritas in 11 out of 46 parishes in the department, displaced females constitute approximately 65 percent of the total displaced population; 76 percent of the population indicated plans to stay in South Department indefinitely, and 24 percent intend to return to Port-au-Prince when the emergency in the capital ends. A survey conducted by 120 volunteers organized by the mayor's office will attempt to determine by the week of February 22 how many displaced people in Les Cayes are relocating to find and live with family members. ¶13. The assessment team noted insufficient shelter assistance for displaced persons without host families. Departmental authorities discussed with the assessment team potential plans to establish organized settlement sites in each commune due to ease of service delivery. The team introduced support to hosting arrangements as an alternative, cost-effective shelter solution. While receptive to the idea, the authorities requested additional information on tangible ways to support hosting. -------------- Food assistance and agriculture -------------- ¶14. Gonaives: Families and relief organizations interviewed by the USAID assessment team in Gonaives identified food as a priority need for displaced persons and host families. Although food is currently available in local markets, prices have increased since the earthquake. The USAID/DART noted that the price of vegetable oil has increased from approximately $7 to approximately $8.50 per gallon. In Gonaives, WFP has only provided food assistance to hospitals and health centers to date. The DPC reports that WFP plans to begin food distributions to host families in the coming days. ¶15. Jeremie: Discussions with HHF staff and vendors at the local market indicated to the assessment team significant food needs in the Jeremie area, as food prices continue to increase, rations delivered by aid agencies under pre-earthquake operations dwindle, and farmers remain without the necessary inputs to plant before the onset of the rainy season. [Note: HHF staff noted that even before the earthquake, farmers lacked the capacity to meet the food requirements of the area's population. End note.] According to the Emergency Committee and confirmed during a visit to a local market, the price of 25 kg bags of rice has increased from $24 to $35, or 46 percent, and the price of wheat flour has increased more than 70 percent. ¶16. Following the earthquake, HHF and USAID/FFP Title II partner Catholic Relief Services, distributed food rations to 1,000 displaced families. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Jeremie communities also organized food distributions for newly displaced persons. ¶17. In addition, regional authorities, with assistance from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),plan to provide farmers in the area with seeds, pesticides, and other inputs such as water pumps to help farmers plant before the start of the raining season. Authorities conveyed to the assessment team the benefits of reinforcing the agriculture sector quickly, including increased livelihood opportunities and food availability for displaced persons and hosting households alike. ¶18. Les Cayes: CRS staff reported food access, rather than availability, as a concern in the area due to potential price increases in the near future, coupled with a decline in remittances from Port-au-Prince. Currently, food prices remain stable due to the recent, favorable harvest. ¶19. Due to the significant population increase in the department and medium- to long-term food security concerns, CRS also advocates that agencies work to reinforce the agriculture sector through cash-for-work activities to improve and repair drainage canals and through distributions of seeds and other inputs. -------------- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene -------------- ¶20. Gonaives: A USAID assessment team reported that poor sanitation remains a concern in Gonaives due to added strains on host household facilities and the high water table in the area, which precludes the installation of pit latrines. The assessment team also reported that the existing water system in Gonaives was destroyed by the 2008 hurricanes and remains under repair. Residents continue the pre-earthquake practice of purchasing potable water from private drinking water companies. -------------- Health -------------- ¶21. Gonaives: In Artibonite Department, the DPC reported that the health situation has begun to stabilize. Priority needs in the department's health sector include medicines, medical supplies, and psychosocial support for individuals affected by the earthquake. ¶22. Jeremie: HHF staff indicated to the assessment team the likelihood for increasing strains on health care facilities in the Jeremie area, as patient caseloads double in some facilities that currently operate with only half the number of pre-earthquake personnel. HHF cited an increase at one facility from 61 to 150 daily patient consultations, a result, in part, of an increasing number of upper respiratory infections among both the displaced and hosting populations. Staff also highlighted shortages of vaccines, other medicines, and trained midwives as concerns, as facilities attempt to provide care to both displaced people and permanent residents. The earthquake also destroyed the area's only nursing and midwifery school. -------------- Livelihoods and cash-for-work -------------- ¶23. Gonaives: Governmental authorities, relief organizations, and families interviewed by the USAID assessment team in Gonaives identified a critical need for livelihood opportunities for displaced families and residents. Job creation would likely encourage displaced persons to remain in Gonaives rather than return to Port-au-Prince. IOM is implementing USAID-funded cash-for-work activities in and around Gonaives to increase income generation opportunities for vulnerable populations and improve productive and protective infrastructure in the area. IOM reported that approximately 30 percent of cash-for-work beneficiaries in Gonaives are displaced persons recently arrived from Port-au-Prince. ¶24. Jeremie: Both the Grand-Anse Emergency Committee and Jeremie HHF staff emphasized livelihoods support and employment generation as significant needs in order to prevent displaced people from returning to Port-au-Prince and to ease the burden of displacement on hosting families, many of whom rely only on the enervated agriculture sector in Jeremie and also require short-term livelihoods assistance. The Emergency Committee has requested that relief organizations implement a combination of cash-for-work and food-for-work activities to support people until the next harvest. -------------- Emergency Relief Supplies -------------- ¶25. Gonaives: Drawing from a stock of non-food items pre-positioned under a USAID/OFDA preparedness grant ahead of the 2009 hurricane season, IOM distributed kitchen sets, hygiene kits, and mosquito nets to 2,500 people in Gona????ves and St. Marc. IOM reported that displaced persons--particularly in rural areas of Artibonite Department--require additional targeted distributions of kitchen sets and hygiene kits. ¶26. Jeremie: While NGOs CARE and Medecins du Monde distributed hygiene kits and emergency food items to displaced persons in the initial days following the earthquake, stocks depleted quickly, and no further distributions of emergency relief supplies have since transpired, according to HHF staff. -------------- CONCLUSION -------------- ¶27. The assessments conducted by USAID/DART and USAID/Haiti staff will help USAID/OFDA and USAID/FFP target assistance appropriately to areas hosting displaced persons. The significant numbers of displaced people from Port-au-Prince residing with host families in each assessed department and the associated strains on household and community resources necessitate a strategy by aid agencies that might include the provision of integrated and complementary assistance, such as hygiene kit distributions, shelter and livelihood support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to mitigate disease risks. Timely and targeted support remains critical as the rainy season approaches, food prices continue to increase, and earthquake-affected health facilities and water and sanitation infrastructure strain to meet increased demands. The USAID/DART will continue to assess humanitarian conditions in areas outside Port-au-Prince, as USAID/OFDA and implementing partners refine programs to meet the needs of host families and displaced persons alike. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED MERTEN