Dr. Marie-Pierre Allié, president of Médecins Sans Frontières-France, who recently returned from a field visit to Haiti, analyses the situation there one month after the disaster. At present, areas of concern include the vacuum caused by the withdrawal of some of the international medical teams who rushed to scene after the earthquake, the ongoing lack of shelter, and the slow pace of aid distribution.
One month after the earthquake, what is the situation in Haiti?
The extent of the destruction that I observed in the field is very unusual. This disaster leaves a profound impression even on those with prior experience in natural disasters, even after seeing the images over and over. In some places, families are living in the rubble of neighborhoods that have been completely destroyed. In other areas, the buildings still standing seem to be very unstable and dangerous. According to the United Nations, approximately 500,000 displaced persons have moved to more than 300 resettlement sites in the capital, but this is just part of the problem. We are talking about a capital city of 2.5 million people where almost no one is sleeping under a roof at this point.
Some of the residents—about 20 percent—have left Port-au-Prince. Nearly everyone else is sleeping outside, in public areas or in front of their house, whether it is standing or not. At the same time, there is a certain return to normalcy. Markets have resumed, businesses are open and the clean-up is proceeding.
This impressive resumption of activity contrasts with an ongoing lack of organization, one month after the earthquake. It's still hard to obtain access to food and shelter, both of which are limited. There is a visible and obvious humanitarian presence in some areas and practically none in others—with no apparent coherence with the extent of the destruction. Overall, basic needs are not yet being met, which inevitably creates tensions and, possibly, security risks in the long-term. In addition, many people need mental health care to deal with the trauma they have experienced–loss of family and destruction of their home–and to confront the precariousness of their current situation. There is a sharp contrast between the massive mobilization abroad in terms of donors and the emergency aid that has been sent, and in the field, where this aid is reaching with difficulties a population that feels it's being ignored.
