As UN Calls for Haiti Aid, Many Champion Local Groups Over Red Cross (Full article)
“As Haiti begins to recover from Hurricane Matthew, one of the worst storms to hit the Caribbean nation in decades, concerns are growing over public health risks and the ways in which foreign aid may interfere with relief efforts.
The death toll from Matthew is currently estimated to be at least 1,000 people, many of whom have had to be buried in mass graves, Reuters reported this week. United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for $120 million in assistance for Haiti, which is now facing a cholera outbreak at a time when the hurricane’s destruction has left many villages difficult to reach….However, the legacy of foreign aid in Haiti has left many residents fearful of large organizations like the American Red Cross (ARC) descending on the impoverished island. As Pro Publica and NPR revealed in a joint investigation last year, when Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake in 2010, the ARC raised half a billion dollars in aid and built a grand total of six new homes.
Many observers, including award-winning Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat and Haiti-based NGO expert Mark Schuller, are urging those eager to support Matthew relief efforts to donate to local grassroots groups instead of the ARC and other massive organizations. Danticat listed a handful of groups in a Facebook post over the weekend, including the Gaskov Clerge Foundation, Fondation Aquin Solidarite, the Three Little Flowers Center, Paradis des Indiens, and Project Saint Anne, among others.”
Hurricane Matthew: Haiti risks ‘real famine’, says interim president (full article)
“Jocelerme Privert said famine could take hold within three to four months if the situation was not managed properly. It comes as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a “massive response” to help the country. The category-four storm is believed to have killed as many as 900 Haitians.
It has also wiped towns and villages off the map, destroying tens of thousands of homes, crops and food reserves.
Mr Privert said the loss was “amazing”, saying food, water and medicine was immediately needed.
“But the concern is if we don’t take action now for the longer impact… three to four months when the foods stop coming we are going to have a real famine.”
Hurricane Matthew’s devastation in Haiti forces UN to call for $120m in aid (Guardian)