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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPU #0112/01 0331437
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 021435Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0085
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0294
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE
INFO HAITI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000112 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PINR PREL PREF HA
SUBJECT: USAID/DART ASSESSMENT OF HUMANITARIAN CONDITIONS IN 
CARREFOUR HOSPITAL AND CAMP 
 
REF: PORT A 76; PORT A 100 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary. On January 28, staff from USAID/Haiti visited the 
Seventh Day Adventist Diquini Hospital in Carrefour, noting that 
although doctors continue to treat earthquake-related injuries, the 
number of surgeries per day has gradually decreased from 30 to 15. 
A recently donated surgical cache funded by USAID's Office of 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) has improved the 
hospital's ability to respond to post-earthquake medical needs.  On 
January 30, a water and sanitation specialist from USAID's Disaster 
Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) assessed conditions at the 
Adventist Hospital and university campus, which houses 12,000 
displaced persons during the day and approximately 20,000 at night. 
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to construct 
latrines, hand-washing stations, showers, and refuse disposal pits 
to meet sanitation and hygiene needs for the population.  Lead NGO 
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) reports sufficient 
water supplies at the site and ongoing efforts to expand on-site 
water sources and water treatment capability.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
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HOSPITAL CONDITIONS 
 
------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) The Seventh Day Adventist Diquini Hospital, located the 
Carrefour suburb of Port-au-Prince, is staffed by approximately 100 
individuals.  Following the January 12 earthquake, the Hospital was 
one of the first hospitals to have surgical capability, augmented 
by a number of international volunteer doctors and orthopedic 
surgeons.  Following the influx of patients with earthquake-related 
injuries, the 71-bed hospital reported critically low medical 
supplies, and requested surgical tools, sterilization equipment, 
and disposable medical supplies. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Following a January 28 visit, USAID/Haiti health program 
staff reported that, although doctors continue to treat 
earthquake-related injuries, the number of surgeries per day has 
gradually decreased from 30 to 15 since January 24.  USAID staff 
also noted dozens of tents on hospital grounds, housing an 
estimated 700 post-operative patients. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) On January 21, the Adventist Hospital received a 
USAID/OFDA-funded International Medical Surgical Response Team 
(IMSuRT) equipment and supply cache valued at $1 million. 
According to doctors, the donation - containing surgical tools, 
bandages, and orthopedic, thoracic, and amputation kits - has been 
a vital component, allowing the hospital to respond to more than 
twice the normal caseload. 
 
 
 
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SETTLEMENT AT ADVENTIST UNIVERISTY 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) On January 30, the USAID/DART water, sanitation, and 
hygiene (WASH) advisor conducted an assessment at the Adventist 
Hospital and University in Carrefour.  In addition to 
post-operative tents at the hospital, displaced families formed a 
settlement (camp) on the university grounds, hosting a daytime 
population of approximately 12,000 people and a nighttime 
population of approximately 20,000 people.  The camp is divided 
into 12 sections, which are currently serviced by three NGOs - 
ADRA, Medical Teams International, and Save the Children (SC). 
 
 
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WATER 
 
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¶6.  (U) ADRA staff report sufficient water supply at the Adventist 
University settlement; however, the hospital's water supply is 
irregular and requires improvements.  A spring has been diverted to 
fill a swimming pool on campus, where purification units treat the 
water before distribution.  The USAID/DART WASH advisor noted that 
NGOs have distributed aquatabs and placed portable filtration units 
throughout the campus to make safe drinking water easily accessible 
to those collecting water from the university's untreated pipe 
system. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (U) ADRA reports that the hospital's cistern is filled with 
untreated spring water, which flows regularly during the morning, 
but ceases in the afternoon.  USAID/OFDA has facilitated delivery 
of bottled water to the hospital through the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM), in addition to bottled water 
previously delivered by the U.S. military.  ADRA indicated that the 
hospital is working to improve access to on-site water sources to 
eliminate the need for continued water delivery. 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) As part of the effort to reduce the hospital's dependency 
on bottled water, ADRA plans to service the hospital cistern with a 
USAID/OFDA-funded water purification unit, valued at $55,000, which 
can produce 15 liters of safe drinking water per person for 
approximately 10,000 people per day.  On January 30, the USAID/DART 
WASH advisor also provided ADRA with a sufficient quantity of 
chlorine to clean the cistern and treat unpurified water at the 
settlement for several months. 
 
 
 
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SANITATION AND HYGIENE 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) At the Adventist University settlement, ADRA and SC are 
working to construct latrine blocks, showers, and trash collection 
areas throughout the campus.  NGOs report that a local official in 
the camp helps coordinate volunteer laborers for latrine 
construction and other activities.  As of January 31, NGOs had 
completed approximately 20 of 60 initially planned latrines on 
campus, noting that ADRA recently rented a backhoe to hasten the 
process.  In the coming months, ADRA plans to increase the total 
number of latrines to 200. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (U) Although the USAID/DART WASH advisor reported individuals 
bathing with soap, no hand washing was observed.  NGOs indicated 
that hand washing stations were planned at each of the latrine 
blocks, though the construction has not yet begun.  In addition, 
due to recent reports of harassment of women using sanitation 
facilities at night, NGOs are installing lighting around latrine 
and shower areas. 
 
 
 
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FUTURE PLANS 
 
------------ 
 
 
¶12.  (U) ADRA expects the majority of camp residents to remain 
displaced for three to six months.  Following debris removal and 
the onset of the early recovery phase, NGOs in the camp plan to 
assist families with the construction of semi-permanent housing and 
latrines at the sites of previous residences.  ADRA also noted that 
families have indicated a preference for constructing 
semi-permanent housing with wood, rather than concrete, due to 
widespread fear of future earthquakes and building collapse. 
 
 
 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
MERTEN