Post-Earthquake Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Status in

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000076 AIDAC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PINR PREL PREF HA SUBJECT: Post-Earthquake Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Status in Haiti REF: PORT A 0054; PORT A 0058; PORT A 0060; PORT A 0072 ¶1. Summary. Disruptions in water service and availability remain a significant concern for earthquake-affected populations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the capital on January 12. However, USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) staff report that sufficient water production capacity currently exists and note significant progress in addressing fuel and trucking shortages to support water tankering efforts in recent days. USAID/DART staff emphasize the need for increased water storage capacity at distribution sites, as well as the need to increase sanitation and hygiene interventions to prevent the spread of water-borne disease among affected populations. USAID in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD),the Government of Haiti (GoH),the U.N., and relief organizations are rapidly scaling up response measures to address water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs. End summary. -------------- WATER AVAILABILITY -------------- ¶2. The earthquake damaged significant portions of urban water piping networks, contributing to an increased reliance on water tankering in affected areas. However, most hand-pump wells survived the earthquake undamaged and many gravity spring-fed systems remain operational. Water shops also remain open in many locations, but with a reduced capacity to produce water. Overall, USAID/DART staff report sufficient water availability in metropolitan Port-au-Prince to meet population water needs, but emphasize that augmented resources to transport and store water at key locations are required at this time. U.N. WASH cluster participants together with the private sector are capable of delivering more than 1 million gallons of water per day, a sufficient amount to address gaps in water availability at key locations in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. -------------- WATER DISTRIBUTION SITES AND WATER TRUCKING -------------- ¶3. The need for water services is most acute at sites where significant numbers of displaced populations have gathered and at hospital and clinic locations. The GoH's National Directorate for Potable Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF),as lead and co-lead of the U.N. Water Cluster respectively, have prioritized these areas and has made significant progress in expanding the number of established water distribution sites in recent days. As of January 19, the WASH Cluster had established 82 water distribution sites, supplied by 130 water trucks, providing water for 180,000 beneficiaries, according to USAID/DART staff. ¶4. Recent fuel pledges by the UNICEF and the private sector to support water trucking interventions have permitted augmented water trucking capacity. On January 19, UNICEF and DINEPA reported that the private sector pledged to set aside 8,000 gallons of fuel daily to support water distribution activities. On January 20, UNICEF announced plans to provide an additional 5,000 gallons per day to facilitate water truck operations. As a result, the water tanker fleet provided more than 1 million liters of water to distribution sites on January 19, representing the largest distribution to date. Enhanced humanitarian coordination is expected to further improve trucking capacity in the coming days. ¶5. USAID/DART staff also emphasize then need for increased water storage capacity at distribution sites. Relief partners are working to install additional water bladders to increase storage capacity at the sites, with 20 bladders installed as on January 20. -------------- SANITATION -------------- ¶6. Sanitation infrastructure at areas where displaced populations have spontaneously congregated is urgently needed. According to the USAID/OFDA WASH Advisor, WASH cluster partners have constructed an unconfirmed number of trench latrines serving approximately 50,000 people to date, a number expected to double in the coming days. The U.N. WASH Cluster estimates that a total of 3,000 latrines are needed at this time for spontaneous settlement sites. However, USAID/DART staff note ongoing challenges to augmenting latrine construction, including crowded site areas with limited space availability, and GoH reluctance to support pit and trench latrine construction at public sites where displaced populations have gathered. -------------- HYGIENE -------------- ¶7. In recognition of the need to increase hygiene education and activities in concert with water and sanitation interventions to prevent an increase in disease outbreak, the U.N. WASH Cluster has created a hygiene working group to establish standards and recommended practices for hygiene promotion and household level water treatment. The U.N. WASH cluster hygiene working group is developing a hygiene promotion awareness campaign that will include bill boards, leaflets, posters, and other communication products. The DINEPA has invited partners to share existing materials, preferably in Creole, which can be used in the campaign. U.N. WASH cluster partners report that additional hygiene items, including soap, water containers, and cups, are also needed in settlement sites. WASH cluster partners are coordinating with the shelter cluster to determine the distribution process. -------------- USAID/OFDA WASH COMMODITIES -------------- ¶8. As part of USG response efforts, USAID/OFDA has supported multiple flights of emergency relief commodities that include water chlorination tablets, water purification units capable of providing 15,000 liters of clean water per hour, as well as water containers and hygiene kits. ¶9. On January 19, two USAID/OFDA-funded flight carrying emergency relief supplies arrived in Port-au-Prince. Commodities included 35,400 water containers, 12,096 hygiene kits, and 6 water purification units. Subsequently on January 20, an additional two USAID/OFDA-funded flights delivered 250 rolls of plastic sheeting, 384 hygiene kits, and 192 kitchen sets. ¶10. As of January 19, USAID/OFDA implementing partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had delivered the following USAID/OFDA-funded emergency relief supplies to affected populations: 240,600 aquatabs, 3,300 water containers, and 1,920 hygiene kits to neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, including the Primature, Villa Creole, Place Boyer, Delmas 33, and Canape Vert. In addition, UNICEF has delivered the following on behalf of IOM in Jacmel: 18,000 aquatabs, 600 water containers, 300 hygiene kits, 300 kitchen kits, 600 mosquito nets, 300 plastic sheets, 600 sleeping mats, and 300 tarpaulins. ¶11. USAID/DART staff continue to monitor evolving water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions on the ground and coordinate with USAID/Haiti, DoD, GoH, U.N., and relief organization partners to address critical water and sanitation needs of earthquake-affected populations. MERTEN