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DE RUEHPU #0172/01 0491947
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O 181945Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0143
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0374
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 000172 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PINR PREL PREF HA
SUBJECT: USAID/DART AND USAID/HAITI ASSESSMENTS IN GONAIVES, JEREMIE, 
AND LES CAYES 
 
REF: PORT A 0098; PORT A 0136 
 
¶1.  Summary.  On February 15, USAID Disaster Assistance Response 
Team (USAID/DART) and USAID/Haiti staff conducted assessments of 
humanitarian conditions for displaced persons and host families in 
Gonaives, Artibonite Department; Jeremie, Grand-Anse Department; 
and Les Cayes, South Department; as well as a rapid health 
assessment in Jacmel, Southeast Department.  The assessment 
findings will help inform further programming by USAID's Office of 
U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID's Office of 
Food for Peace (USAID/FFP), particularly related to host family and 
community support. 
 
 
 
¶2.  Food and livelihood support remain priority needs in Artibonite 
Department, which currently hosts the highest number of displaced 
persons from Port-au-Prince, and Grand-Anse Department, where the 
displaced population has increased considerably in the last two 
weeks.  In South Department, which hosts the second largest 
displaced population, insufficient shelter for displaced people 
without host families and reduced access to food due to declining 
remittances remain concerns.  In all departments, the majority of 
displaced people reside with family members.  Host families in 
Jeremie also require shelter assistance in order to extend living 
spaces to accommmodate the significant increase in household size. 
End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶3.  Note:  A forthcoming SEPTEL will outline the findings from the 
February 15 Jacmel health assessment, as well as findings from a 
February 18 assessment of protection issues and spontaneous 
settlement conditions.  End Note. 
 
 
 
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Displacement figures, Hosting arrangements, and shelter needs 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  Gonaives:  Municipal authorities and the Department of Civil 
Protection (DPC) preliminarily estimate the displaced population in 
Artibonite Department at 154,000 people, including between 30,000 
and 35,800 people in Gonaives and 40,000 others in St. Marc 
municipality.  While the majority of people displaced from 
metropolitan Port-au-Prince currently live with family and friends, 
a small number of people are residing in spontaneous settlements in 
St. Marc and Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite. 
 
 
 
¶5.  The DPC and municipal authorities, with support from USAID 
partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the 
U.N. World Food Program (WFP), continue to conduct an in-depth 
household survey in the Artibonite Department to confirm the 
number, current location, and priority needs of displaced persons 
and identify the number of school-aged children who require school 
enrollment. 
 
 
 
¶6.  The USAID assessment team in Gonaives noted that, in deference 
to lessons learned from the 2004 and 2008 hurricanes in Haiti, the 
DPC has expressed a preference for host family placement over camp 
construction, as camps reportedly remain cost-prohibitive, 
difficult to service, less socially acceptable and sustainable, and 
susceptible to protection and environmental issues. 
 
 
 
¶7.  Jeremie:  The Emergency Committee for Grand-Anse Department 
reported to the assessment team a displaced population of 100,000 
people as of February 15, a significant increase from the 55,000 
individuals registered by the regional government and reported for 
several weeks following the earthquake.  The committee indicated a 
pre-earthquake population of 350,000 people across all 12 communes. 
A significant majority of new arrivals, originally from the region, 
currently reside with immediate or extended family.  The Emergency 
Committee reported no spontaneous settlement sites in the 
department.  The towns of Jeremie and Pastel and surrounding 
villages host the highest numbers of displaced people in the 
department, with 23,250 and 21,000 individuals, respectively. 
 
 
 
¶8.  The assessment team met with staff from USAID partner the 
Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) in Jeremie, who confirmed the 
Emergency Committee's statements regarding the number of displaced 
persons, the absence of spontaneous settlements, and the prevalence 
of hosting arrangements.  According to HHF staff, the population in 
the Jeremie area has increased by one-third since the earthquake to 
reach 200,000 people at present.  After arriving at the wharf in 
Jeremie town from Port-au-Prince, the majority of displaced persons 
immediately departed for surrounding villages to locate family, 
with only a limited number remaining in the town.  The staff has 
observed displaced persons sleeping outside houses and in the 
marketplace in Jeremie due to limited remaining space in hosting 
households. 
 
 
 
¶9.  HHF staff also remarked on the significant increase in the 
average household size as a result of displacement to the Jeremie 
area.  Since the earthquake, the average household size has 
increased from 7 people to 15 people, with some households hosting 
up to 20 additional people.  During frequent visits to hosting 
communities, HHF staff observed the strain on physical structures 
and identified a critical need for shelter assistance that enables 
hosting families to extend houses.  HHF staff recommended a 
composite material using sugarcane stocks or clay - both abundant 
in the area - for potential roofing materials. 
 
 
 
¶10.  The Grand-Anse Departmental Director and HHF staff noted a 
limited number of people returning to Port-au-Prince, primarily to 
assess property damage, salvage household items, and obtain food 
for host families, before journeying back to Grand-Anse. 
 
 
 
¶11.  Les Cayes:  The assessment team reports a pre-earthquake 
population in South Department of approximately 800,000 people and 
the arrival of an estimated 116,000 people displaced from 
Port-au-Prince by the earthquake.  Similar to other departments 
receiving earthquake-affected individuals from Port-au-Prince, a 
majority of displaced persons in South Department reside with host 
families. 
 
 
 
¶12.  According to a survey conducted by NGO Caritas in 11 out of 46 
parishes in the department, displaced females constitute 
approximately 65 percent of the total displaced population; 76 
percent of the population indicated plans to stay in South 
Department indefinitely, and 24 percent intend to return to 
Port-au-Prince when the emergency in the capital ends.   A survey 
conducted by 120 volunteers organized by the mayor's office will 
attempt to determine by the week of February 22 how many displaced 
people in Les Cayes are relocating to find and live with family 
members. 
 
 
 
¶13.  The assessment team noted insufficient shelter assistance for 
displaced persons without host families.  Departmental authorities 
discussed with the assessment team potential plans to establish 
organized settlement sites in each commune due to ease of service 
delivery.  The team introduced support to hosting arrangements as 
an alternative, cost-effective shelter solution.  While receptive 
to the idea, the authorities requested additional information on 
tangible ways to support hosting. 
 
 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
Food assistance and agriculture 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶14.  Gonaives:  Families and relief organizations interviewed by 
the USAID assessment team in Gonaives identified food as a priority 
need for displaced persons and host families.  Although food is 
currently available in local markets, prices have increased since 
the earthquake.  The USAID/DART noted that the price of vegetable 
oil has increased from approximately $7 to approximately $8.50 per 
gallon.  In Gonaives, WFP has only provided food assistance to 
hospitals and health centers to date.  The DPC reports that WFP 
plans to begin food distributions to host families in the coming 
days. 
 
 
 
¶15.  Jeremie:  Discussions with HHF staff and vendors at the local 
market indicated to the assessment team significant food needs in 
the Jeremie area, as food prices continue to increase, rations 
delivered by aid agencies under pre-earthquake operations dwindle, 
and farmers remain without the necessary inputs to plant before the 
onset of the rainy season.  [Note:  HHF staff noted that even 
before the earthquake, farmers lacked the capacity to meet the food 
requirements of the area's population.  End note.]  According to 
the Emergency Committee and confirmed during a visit to a local 
market, the price of 25 kg bags of rice has increased from $24 to 
$35, or 46 percent, and the price of wheat flour has increased more 
than 70 percent. 
 
 
 
¶16.  Following the earthquake, HHF and USAID/FFP Title II partner 
Catholic Relief Services, distributed food rations to 1,000 
displaced families.  In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, 
Jeremie communities also organized food distributions for newly 
displaced persons. 
 
 
 
¶17.  In addition, regional authorities, with assistance from the 
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), plan to provide 
farmers in the area with seeds, pesticides, and other inputs such 
as water pumps to help farmers plant before the start of the 
raining season.  Authorities conveyed to the assessment team the 
benefits of reinforcing the agriculture sector quickly, including 
increased livelihood opportunities and food availability for 
displaced persons and hosting households alike. 
 
 
 
¶18.  Les Cayes:  CRS staff reported food access, rather than 
availability, as a concern in the area due to potential price 
increases in the near future, coupled with a decline in remittances 
from Port-au-Prince.  Currently, food prices remain stable due to 
the recent, favorable harvest. 
 
 
 
¶19.  Due to the significant population increase in the department 
and medium- to long-term food security concerns, CRS also advocates 
that agencies work to reinforce the agriculture sector through 
cash-for-work activities to improve and repair drainage canals and 
through distributions of seeds and other inputs. 
 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene 
 
------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶20.  Gonaives:  A USAID assessment team reported that poor 
sanitation remains a concern in Gonaives due to added strains on 
host household facilities and the high water table in the area, 
 
 
which precludes the installation of pit latrines.  The assessment 
team also reported that the existing water system in Gonaives was 
destroyed by the 2008 hurricanes and remains under repair. 
Residents continue the pre-earthquake practice of purchasing 
potable water from private drinking water companies. 
 
 
 
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Health 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶21.  Gonaives:  In Artibonite Department, the DPC reported that the 
health situation has begun to stabilize.  Priority needs in the 
department's health sector include medicines, medical supplies, and 
psychosocial support for individuals affected by the earthquake. 
 
 
 
¶22.  Jeremie:  HHF staff indicated to the assessment team the 
likelihood for increasing strains on health care facilities in the 
Jeremie area, as patient caseloads double in some facilities that 
currently operate with only half the number of pre-earthquake 
personnel.  HHF cited an increase at one facility from 61 to 150 
daily patient consultations, a result, in part, of an increasing 
number of upper respiratory infections among both the displaced and 
hosting populations.  Staff also highlighted shortages of vaccines, 
other medicines, and trained midwives as concerns, as facilities 
attempt to provide care to both displaced people and permanent 
residents.  The earthquake also destroyed the area's only nursing 
and midwifery school. 
 
 
 
----------------------------- 
 
Livelihoods and cash-for-work 
 
----------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶23.  Gonaives:  Governmental authorities, relief organizations, and 
families interviewed by the USAID assessment team in Gonaives 
identified a critical need for livelihood opportunities for 
displaced families and residents.  Job creation would likely 
encourage displaced persons to remain in Gonaives rather than 
return to Port-au-Prince.  IOM is implementing USAID-funded 
cash-for-work activities in and around Gonaives to increase income 
generation opportunities for vulnerable populations and improve 
productive and protective infrastructure in the area.  IOM reported 
that approximately 30 percent of cash-for-work beneficiaries in 
Gonaives are displaced persons recently arrived from 
Port-au-Prince. 
 
 
 
¶24.  Jeremie:  Both the Grand-Anse Emergency Committee and Jeremie 
HHF staff emphasized livelihoods support and employment generation 
as significant needs in order to prevent displaced people from 
returning to Port-au-Prince and to ease the burden of displacement 
on hosting families, many of whom rely only on the enervated 
agriculture sector in Jeremie and also require short-term 
livelihoods assistance.  The Emergency Committee has requested that 
relief organizations implement a combination of cash-for-work and 
food-for-work activities to support people until the next harvest. 
 
 
 
 
------------------------- 
 
Emergency Relief Supplies 
 
------------------------- 
 
 
¶25.  Gonaives:  Drawing from a stock of non-food items 
pre-positioned under a USAID/OFDA preparedness grant ahead of the 
2009 hurricane season, IOM distributed kitchen sets, hygiene kits, 
and mosquito nets to 2,500 people in Gona????ves and St. Marc.  IOM 
reported that displaced persons--particularly in rural areas of 
Artibonite Department--require additional targeted distributions of 
kitchen sets and hygiene kits. 
 
 
 
¶26.  Jeremie:  While NGOs CARE and Medecins du Monde distributed 
hygiene kits and emergency food items to displaced persons in the 
initial days following the earthquake, stocks depleted quickly, and 
no further distributions of emergency relief supplies have since 
transpired, according to HHF staff. 
 
 
 
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CONCLUSION 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
¶27.  The assessments conducted by USAID/DART and USAID/Haiti staff 
will help USAID/OFDA and USAID/FFP target assistance appropriately 
to areas hosting displaced persons.  The significant numbers of 
displaced people from Port-au-Prince residing with host families in 
each assessed department and the associated strains on household 
and community resources necessitate a strategy by aid agencies that 
might include the provision of integrated and complementary 
assistance, such as hygiene kit distributions, shelter and 
livelihood support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene 
interventions to mitigate disease risks.  Timely and targeted 
support remains critical as the rainy season approaches, food 
prices continue to increase, and earthquake-affected health 
facilities and water and sanitation infrastructure strain to meet 
increased demands.  The USAID/DART will continue to assess 
humanitarian conditions in areas outside Port-au-Prince, as 
USAID/OFDA and implementing partners refine programs to meet the 
needs of host families and displaced persons alike. 
 
 
 
 
 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
MERTEN