Humanitarian Action - Haiti Earthquake - Essay Example

Haiti Earthquake 12 January brought the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. It is a major humanitarian crisis which caused over 200,000 people dead and 196,000 injured. Those who escaped death or injury are homeless and forced to live in temporary shelter sites in Port-au-Price, the capital city which is completely ruined. Managing and delivering sufficient emergency assistance proved to be the logistic nightmare with a crushed infrastructure. This poorest country of Western hemisphere needs unprecedented efforts of governments and humanitarian organizations in order to somehow deal with this mega crisis and get back to life (Roughneen, 2010). Humanitarian action demanded right information and exact situation of the damage in order to respond properly and plan further operation. Right information is needed to locate and estimate the damage to roads, bridges and hospitals.WFP produced the high resolution images of the massive destruction by using satellite technology with the information about people living in those areas (Standley, 2010).Despite the right amount of information, many factors are still hindering relief activities, for instance, ruined communication and transportation system with crippled government infrastructure. After emergency period, priority humanitarian needs can be easily identified to be food, shelter, medical care and immediate supply to relief sites. To cater food needs, World Food Program in assistance with government and other NGOs worked up a plan for 16 fixed distribution sites (Pan American Health Organization [PAHO], 2010).Immediate need of tents emerged due to lack of shelter and destroyed buildings. From 200,000 requests for family sized tents, only a small portion is available in country. It seems crucial to work on people movement and providing them assistance at the spot in order to reduce displacement (PAHO, 2010).People are not left with any cash which rings the bells for alarming security condition in future. This situation calls for immediate implementation of UN’s cash-for-work scheme in addition with job opportunities creation which is aimed at rebuilding infrastructure (Rienstra, 2010). The capital city, Port-au-Price is ruined and so are the government infrastructure and its capacity. Most of the top civil officials are dead; therefore Haitians need to be trained on short term basis in order to serve as civilian officers. Government’s response in consultation with international organization is not to import development because victims are supposed to be the best agent of their own recovery. Therefore, rebuilding government setup and its functioning is essential for Haitians (Rienstra, 2010). Since the emergency phase is over, international community needs to go beyond the limits and join hands with humanitarian organizations and private sector to help Haitians. So far, the world’s response to this tragic crisis is not up to the mark and efforts are inadequate. According to Rienstra (2010), the World Economic Forum in collaboration with UN and Clinton’s Global Initiative is assisting government of Haiti and planning to launch a Global Partnership to assist Haiti’s economic development. Private sectors and individuals are encouraged to donate in cash for funding the lacking projects. Corruption and security are major concerns in coming days. Heiti was already stricken by poverty, hunger, illiteracy, weak infrastructure, corruption and decades of political turmoil. The earthquake ruined country has numerous threats in future which need to be addressed before it’s too late. Government and NGOs should work to provide long term shelter, food, health care facilities and job opportunities before the hurricane season in Haiti which starts in July. Iraq: Crisis of internally displaced people Usually we associate disaster as a crisis inflicted by nature but human-made disasters are not less likely to represent similar amount of suffering for humanity. One of such disasters is war and conflicts that brings up the crisis of internally displaced people or IDPs. By June 2008, more than 2.8 million people were internally displaced in Iraq. Most of them are spread in rented accommodations and depend on host communities, governmental bodies, or some national and international humanitarian agencies. This population was displaced in three phases, approximately 1.6 million fled sectarian violence in 2006,an estimated 190,000 displaced by military operation and violence in 2003 to 2005, and around 1.2 million displaced as a consequence of the policies of Saddam’s government and Gulf War. In addition to this, according to UNHCR 1.7 million Iraqi refugees are abroad and only 300,000 of them are registered (Iraq 2010 Humanitarian Action Plan [HAP], 2009) This situation is not created at once but emerged from a legacy of sanctions, violence, conflict, lack of development and public service. These factors led to the scarcity of basic human needs, for instance, water, food, shelter, security, and access to health care and education. Since there has been no major humanitarian or security crisis in 2009, some improvement in IDPs returning to their home can be noticed but there is no change in vulnerable areas, for instance, northern and north-western Iraq, central Iraq and areas of southern Iraq. However, there had been a drought-induced migration in some parts of Iraq. Despite this condition, there is hope for improvements due to recent developments in implementation capacity and improved security in Iraq.IOM identified 58,000 families returned to their origin which is quite promising. On the other hand, according to UNHCR the rate of return has been slower during 2009 than in 2008(United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA], 2009). Humanitarian action needs to work beyond mass-displacement and sufferings caused by conflicts. Better security situation and less migration in recent time have allowed agencies to identify and work in the vulnerable and neglected areas. Differing levels of human needs are apparent in priority districts that are host to IDPs. These new IDP populations laid extra pressure on already weak and suffering infrastructure and the setup needs overhauling before it collapse (OCHA, 2009).IDPs need education and further employment opportunities in order to take a stand for themselves. According to OCHA (2009), besides fixing residual crisis and issues, humanitarian action demands to build a rapid response capacity in order to tackle sudden conflicting situations. Considering political fallout of 2010 elections and other unresolved issues, probability of some other long term or short term displacements cannot be ruled out. The needs and requirements of IDPs are not similar in all areas, for instance in Baghdad IDPs have needs similar to locals but in Kirkuk they are more vulnerable. However, on the whole IDPs need proper housing, protection and jobs to generate income and survive. For this purpose UNHCR is extending legal, social and return assistance in collaboration with local authorities but there is need to work more aggressively towards this issue. Work cited Roughneen, S. (2010, Januray 29). Aid Failure Bodes III Haiti. Port-au-Prince: ISN Security Watch.Retrieved from http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2010.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/SKEA-826JUX-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf Rienstra, D. (2010, January 27). Haiti: First Responders Back from the Front Line. World Economic Forum (WEF).Retrieved from http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SNAA-8296ZC?OpenDocument&rc=2&emid=EQ-2010-000009-HTI Standley, J.2010.Haiti: Eyes in the Sky Guide Relief Work. United Nations World Food Programme [WFP].Retrieved from http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EGUA-7ZXPZG?OpenDocument Pan American Health Organization [PAHO].2010.Emergency Operations Center Situation Report#17 Haiti Earthquake. Retrieved from http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/AZHU-828T4C?OpenDocument&query=haiti%20earthquake United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2009.Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP):2010 Humanitarian Action Plan for Iraq. Retrieved from http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-7Z2KLC?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq Read More