Haiti Earthquake Appeal

On the ground

Oxfam is now beginning to get aid through despite immense challenges. Our staff in Haiti are currently providing shovels and picks for local civil workers to clear rubble to search for trapped victims in Port-au-Prince, but the destruction continues to severely hamper aid efforts.

From our Oxford warehouse, we are flying out up to ten tonnes of water, sanitation, health and shelter equipment, valued at around £70,000, to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. We also have pre-positioned stocks in Panama on stand-by while we finalise our plans to scale-up aid delivery and have deployed 17 humanitarian experts out to assist the aid effort.

Meanwhile, the Oxfam team in Port-Au-Prince is busy assessing the situation. There are reports that over 90% of buildings in the capital are in ruins. Our immediate priorities will be providing safe water and shelter material for the people who have lost their homes. Many people have lost their homes and were sleeping out in the open last night.

Oxfam is linking with the UN and other aid agencies on the ground, and we understand that the Haitian government is planning to set up 14 camps around the capital to give people somewhere to sleep. In this situation camps could offer the best temporary solution to get food and water and sanitation to people in need. Access for survivors to clean water is probably the most immediate problem to resolve now.

You can help: donate now to our earthquake response

Update: 15 January 2010