Haiti Earthquake Appeal

On film: 6 months on

This has been a disaster of a scale and complexity beyond almost any other we have seen in our 55 years of emergency work.

Oxfam is providing latrines, clean water, emergency shelter and other basic needs, and helping people earn vital income. Click on the videos to learn more about our work:

Photo slideshows

A selection of slideshows of Oxfam's response to the earthquake in Haiti:

• Photo gallery: Snapshot of Oxfam's earthquake response
• Audio slideshow: Reflections from Haiti
• Photo slideshow: Wash, waste and fun
• In pictures: Canteen programme
• Audio slideshow: Getting Haiti back on its feet
• Audio slideshow: Water in emergencies
• In pictures: Cash-for-work
• In pictures: Distributing water
• Photo gallery: earthquake aftermath

Find out more about Oxfam's response

ECHO (Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission) is supporting Oxfam's emergency response in Haiti

On the ground

The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, killed an estimated 222,000 people, left 1.5 million others homeless, and destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

• Half a million people killed or injured
• 188,000 houses, 4,000 schools and 30 hospitals damaged or destroyed

In pictures: Haiti earthquake

The first six months

Since January, the emergency aid response has made a real difference to people’s lives. There is still much work to be done, and there are major challenges ahead. But there have been many significant achievements over the past six months: 

• There has been no major outbreak of disease
• More people in metropolitan Port-au-Prince now have better access to drinking water and latrines than they did before the earthquake.
• The sufficient availability of aid, like water and food, has helped to prevent violence such as looting
• In the first three months after the quake, emergency shelter was distributed as fast or faster than any other disaster, including the Asian tsunami (to 100,000 people a week at its height).
• 4.3 million people have received food aid
• Oxfam’s work is reaching over 20% of the 2 million people affected by the earthquake.

Audio slideshow: Reflections from Haiti

Hurricane season

The hurricane season in Haiti has begun and this year is predicted to be especially dangerous for these storms. We are concerned about the safety of thousands of people in camps vulnerable to flooding. We have positioned emergency stocks of tarpaulin and we are doing preparation work at many sites where we work, including digging drainage canals, laying down gravel and sandbagging tents.

Oxfam's response in detail

Oxfam in action

Oxfam is now helping more than 420,000 people with a range of assistance including clean water and sanitation services, public health education, shelter, and support for livelihoods.

For the next six months we will focus on recovery, such as making sure people have sustained access to water and sanitation to prevent disease, and helping them earn incomes. We will continue to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable people who remain in camps, while working to rebuild communities and foster livelihoods.

We are working extensively with local partners, including Haitian national organisations and grassroots community groups, so that our operations are sustainable and communities take ownership of projects.

Water and sanitation

Oxfam has reached more than 317,000 people so far with safe water, sanitation and hygiene materials.

Oxfam is distributing more than 8 million litres of water each day. We began by trucking water to the major camps in Port-au-Prince and are now seeking out those living in small settlements that have sprung up in vacant lots and yards throughout the city. We are also undertaking water treatment and delivery in other towns that were badly damaged by the quake.

On film: delivering water in Haiti

When people are displaced from their homes in large numbers, latrines are essential to ensuring the safe disposal of waste. By providing privacy, they also help disaster survivors uphold their dignity under the trying conditions of camp life.

• So far we've built over 2,200 latrines, servicing more than 160,000 people
• We've constructed 334 bathing shelters
• Oxfam has installed 10% of all the latrines built in the earthquake response

Audio slideshow: water in emergencies

We're also working with local organisations on developing innovative and environmentally friendly solutions to sanitation problems, including bio-degradable "peepoo" bags.

On film: peepoo bags in Haiti

Shelter and relief materials

Oxfam has distributed plastic sheets and shelter kits, assisting the emergency needs of more than 98,000 people. Although we will also distribute some tents, at this moment in the emergency, plastic sheeting has an advantage over tents: it can shrink or expand to fit the space available.

Our hygiene kits – which contain personal care items like soap, shampoo, oral hygiene supplies, sanitary pads, and towels – are benefiting nearly 120,000 people.

On film: Oxfam's shelter programme

Food and livelihoods

• Oxfam has launched work and livelihood projects that give camp residents a chance to earn an income while improving their environment by building latrines, removing garbage, and preparing shelter materials for distribution. 134,000 people are benefiting from these programmes.

In pictures: Oxfam's cash-for-work programme

We have also been running community canteens, an innovative project to provide food while reviving livelihoods. These have provided support to 15,000 people.

In pictures: canteen programme

On film: hot meals in Haiti