Three years after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010, approximately 358,000 people are still living in over 500 camps scattered around Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas,  living under tents and tarpaulins.  Their access to basic services, such as sanitation, health care and education is very limited. The country and its people continue to be very vulnerable to any future shocks, international agency Oxfam warned today.

“At its peak after the earthquake, around 1.5 million people were living in some 1,500 displacement camps around the city, so the numbers have decreased steadily in the past three years. Thanks to the determination of the Haitian people and their government, and the support of the public and governments around the world, progress has also been made in various aspects including reconstruction, with many thousands of homes built, nearly all the rubble cleared and the ongoing construction of roads and outdoor lighting,” said Andrew Pugh, Oxfam´s Country Director in Haiti. 

The government has made efforts in the last year to lead the process of reconstruction. It proposed a return and relocation plan that offers cash grants, rental subsidies and steps up investments in neighbourhoods to improve basic services. The plan has helped more than 53,000 people move back into the neighbourhoods. The government also established a housing policy, but the land available for reconstruction of homes is still insufficient and investment in basic services remains inadequate.

“While a lot of tangible progress has been made, major challenges remain to rebuild Haiti after the earthquake and overturn decades of collective neglect and weak governance. Basically it’s three steps forward and two steps back. What continues to be needed is a comprehensive, realistic long-term resettlement plan led by Haitians for Haitians. The international community has an important role to play, but it has to be a supportive role, not an alternative role,” said Pugh.

While Haiti slowly recovered from the aftermath of the earthquake and the outbreak of cholera which began in October 2010, it was hit by two tropical storms in 2012. Tropical Storms Isaac and Sandy aggravated the chronic vulnerability of people already living in precarious situations.

“With ongoing and recurrent challenges, the government and international community must do all it can to ensure that all of those who remain in camps are supported to

relocate to secure housing with access to basic services,” said Pugh. “The Haitian government, with the support of the international community, must have a strategy to lessen the impact of future disasters that threaten the lives and livelihoods of both urban and rural families.”

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Notes to editors:
After the earthquake, and thanks to the generosity of the public, Oxfam received US$98 million to mount an emergency response, followed by a further US$8 million in 2011, bringing the total to US$106 million. By January 2013, Oxfam had spent approximately 96% of these funds. In the first phase of the response, Oxfam reached 500,000 people with access to drinking water and sanitation services (latrines, showers and public health promotion), cash-for-work programs and support for small businesses. Oxfam is now focusing on long-term development in the country, working with partners and the government to support in building long-term sanitation infrastructure, employment creation through development of small enterprises, working with small scale agricultural farmers to access markets and working with communities to become more resilient to natural disasters. 

About Oxfam
Oxfam is dedicated to fighting poverty and inequity worldwide. The international and independent development and humanitarian organisation tackles poverty in four main ways: sustainable development in poor communities, disaster relief, local and global advocacy, and education with Hong Kong youth. Established in Hong Kong in 1976, Oxfam Hong Kong is a founding member of Oxfam, an international confederation that has assisted poor people in 94 countries. Oxfam Hong Kong alone has supported poor people in over 70 countries/regions.

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