Hurricane Matthew: thousands still cut off from aid

Present in Haiti before Hurricane Matthew hit, Handicap International’s local teams supported by emergency specialists, are preparing to supply aid to the most vulnerable people. More than 1.4 million people now need immediate assistance. As the death toll continues to rise, hundreds of thousands of people are still unable to access humanitarian aid in some areas of the country.

A destroyed road in the south of Haiti. | © P.Thieler / Handicap International

Nearly a week after Haiti was hit by Hurricane Matthew, the situation in the country remains extremely alarming. According to the United Nations, some 2.1 million people have been affected in the departments of Grand’Anse, Sud, Nippes, Sud-Est, Artibonite and Nord-ouest. And almost 13% of the country’s population still needs immediate assistance.

The road between Les Cayes and Jérémie, the cities worst affected by the hurricane, remains impassable. It is vital humanitarian actors gain access to people living in these areas. Handicap International is preparing to supply aid to the most vulnerable people.

“There is still an urgent need to access survivors,” explains Hélène Robin, head of Handicap International’s emergency programmes.

“You can imagine the difficulties facing people with injuries and older or disabled people whose homes have been destroyed and who need care but cannot get help because the roads have been damaged. Their health could deteriorate rapidly if they do not receive immediate aid.”

“We need to distribute kits of essential items as fast as possible to people who have lost everything and who are now living in the streets. The sanitary risks are high and we need to start work as quickly as possible to avoid a cholera epidemic.”

In partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), Handicap International will also provide logistical support to the overall emergency response by helping transport humanitarian aid to the most isolated areas, currently inaccessible, in the province of Grand’Anse. Transporting aid by canoe is also being considered until roads reopen.

Handicap International will deploy a team to the Nord-ouest province, where little humanitarian aid is getting through, despite being seriously affected, to ensure that no one is left behind.