One Month Later: Plan's Emergency Response in Haiti

In the month following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, Plan has been working closely with national and local government authorities, emergency services and other organizations to respond to the immediate needs of children and their communities.

To date, Plan’s total funds raised and pending has reached over $25 million with another $13 million in the donation of essential medicines.

Relief for children and their communities

In the month since the earthquake struck Haiti, Plan’s actions have progressed through several phases. In the first few hours Plan was on the ground providing food, water and other vital supplies to earthquake survivors. Plan was also one of the first organizations to provide shelter in Jacmel, with a tent distribution in the first few days following the earthquake; distributed tents currently provide shelter for over 30,000 people.

After the first week, Plan expanded its relief efforts beyond the distributions of essential materials to include child protection and education, psychosocial support and water and sanitation efforts. Family survival kits were distributed to affected communities, and mobile clinics are providing health assessments and medicines to earthquake survivors.

A special focus on child protection and safety

Plan has also taken the lead in the fight to protect orphans and other vulnerable children at risk of trafficking after the Haiti earthquake. Together with Heartland Alliance, Plan developed an anti-trafficking partnership to help find safe shelter for homeless children, issue warnings about traffickers and increase knowledge on preventing and reporting cases.

Child-friendly spaces were set up to provide psychosocial support through games, play and counseling to children, especially to those who have lost or been separated from their families. Along with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, Plan has also been working toward the tentative reopening of Haitian schools on April 1.

Moving toward recovery and rehabilitation

Parallel to the emergency relief, Plan will continue strategic planning and long-term thinking toward recovery and rehabilitation. One month later, Plan has implemented a well-defined program that covers the relief effort over the next 18 months. The plan focuses on two of Plan’s key pillars - child protection and education - with water and sanitation, psychosocial support, and disaster risk reduction as cross-cutting themes.

Donate today to support long-term recovery efforts in Haiti.