Here is some information on Haiti at present.  Most of this is from my friend in PAP and the info is very trustworthy.

Health

Medical services are still to remain free through July, although some institutions have begun to charge again.  There has been one case of Diphtheria reported at one of the camps, so immunization efforts have again intensified.  To date more than 800,000 persons have benefited from vaccination.

Great strides in water and sanitation have been made at the camps.  There are much more facilities available in just the last month; and the NGOs believe that full quotas may be reached in about 3 months.  This is very good considering the heavy concentration of people in water-poor areas.

Housing

The Shelter Cluster delivered 104% of its goal of protective tarps and/or tents to over 300,000 families (1.5 million displaced persons).  Recent satellite studies of the country showed that out of the over 236,000 buildings surveyed in Port-au-Prince, about 20% were either severely damaged or destroyed.

Folks have begun to be relocated from the camps, especially those where people are at risk for flooding.  Any camp areas at risk were coded as ‘red’, and these 1,800 families were moved to the two areas outside of Port-au-Prince.  Soon those in ‘yellow’ areas will be relocated as well: families on school or small business properties that need to reopen.

As I mentioned last time, evaluation teams from the Haitian Government are assessing houses in Port-au-Prince:  green ones mean that they are safe to return to; yellow ones will need a little work but can be lived in again; and red ones will be torn down for rebuilding.  Despite the fact that 42% of the houses (and in some areas even more) are “green”, folks are still hesitant to return, preferring to sleep outside on their property despite our now heavy rains or under tarp or tent in one of the camps.  The camps are somewhat popular because of the food, tarps/tents, and other supplies that had been distributed.  It has not been uncommon for some to be camp dwellers during the day and home dwellers (at least outside their home) at night.  No one wants to be too far away from his belongings, much of which are still under rubble; and some saw the camp like a Christmas present.

The Christmas present phenomenon would be part of any project that gave out free anything; but here in Haïti it’s a little more so.  There is a long history of free just about everything, and it’s led to a real problem with dependency.  And dependency robs people of their self respect.

Now that the international support for the Haitian people is starting a new phase, from acute aid to re-establishment of agriculture and small business, this turn away from handouts will be very important–but also very difficult.  There have already been demonstrations against the reduction in the acute aid; but it is a necessary step.  It needs to occur as respectfully as possible, but also in a decisive manner.  Keeping this kind of help going indefinitely will hamper the natural Haitian spirit of innovation and solidarity.  We have all marveled at how well the Haitian people have arisen to help each other and find creative ways to make do. This is the key moment to promote just that.

Temporary Shelters have begun to be built.  A total of about 130,000 are planned.  Folks have been taking advantage of the tarps and some supplies they were able to recoup from the rubble to pretty much do their own, though.  Here are some examples:

And then there are the little fancier models being given out, like the new Quonset hut style homes at one of the relocation sites in the Croix des Bouquets area (suburb of Port-au-Prince):

Then there are the ones from Habitat for Humanity International (in blue), ones made from treated wood—and even the Danish are getting involved, the pink one on the right was built right on the site of a destroyed home:

Government and Economics

Food prices are up between 25 and 35%, which has put a strain on all of us. Government services are sparse because it lost a third of its 60,000 employees in the earthquake (almost all government buildings were destroyed). Too, the cost for all construction supplies has risen 35 – 40 %. People need to rebuild but supplies are unavailable and/or too expensive to purchase.

A recent World Bank study suggests that the money transfers from Haitians living abroad (Diaspora) will increase by 20% this year to add another $306 million in income.  They believe that this is due to the folks who have found temporary (18 months) asylum in the USA and who will be sending back money to their family and friends.

The paper also commented on how the World Bank considers help from individuals to other individuals as potentially a mainstay to reconstruction.  I believe this as well.  It will be best done one to one; though there is still a role for larger institutions to offer a helping hand.

The World Bank also proposed that the Haitian Government offer bonds to the Diaspora (who also may soon be able to hold dual citizenship, if the law passes—meaning that they could both vote and hold an elected position in the government).  Following the model already set up in countries like India and Israel, these bonds would be administered by a respected organization and used for development work within the country.  They would offer about 5% return on investment, and would permit persons to reinvest at a comfortable rate in their birthplace.