UNICEF in the Field in Haiti
April 30, 2012
Clean water brings hope to neighborhoods in Haiti
All day long, a steady stream of residents, young and old, line up to fill their buckets with affordable, clean water at the water kiosks of Cité l’Eternel, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The water project is run by GRET, a French NGO that receives support from UNICEF, and targets 50 of the poorest neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. There are about 300 kiosks in these neighborhoods, and they represents a sustainable, concrete move to reduce post-earthquake reliance on expensive water brought in by trucks.
February 9, 2012
Improving water and sanitation in Haiti
An important part of UNICEF's recovery work in Haiti is focused on improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Following the devastating earthquake many displaced Haitians were forced to live in camps with limited access to clean water and sanitation. A devastating cholera outbreak made access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation more important than ever. UNICEF is providing WASH services in camps and is also providing schools with chlorine tabs, posters about cholera prevention and soap.
February 3, 2012
UNICEF providing vaccines to children in Haiti's hardest-to-reach communities
UNICEF is implementing a program to ensure that every child in Haiti is immunized against diseases like polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and measles-rubella. The program, known as RED (Reach Every District), helps manage resources and link services with communities. RED also provides supportive supervision and monitoring for action. This approach will improve communication between communities and health workers, increasing vaccination coverage.
January 24, 2012
In Haiti, an unprecedented expansion in nutrition services for children and women
Even before the devastating earthquake, malnutrition had reached crisis levels in Haiti. One fifth of children under age 5 were underweight, and nearly a third suffered chronic malnutrition. Two years after the disaster, there has been an unprecedented expansion in preventative and therapeutic nutrition services for children and women. Services include helping local doctors refine their abilities to ensure nutrition programs continue to operate efficiently and teaching the importance of breastfeeding to mothers among others.
January 20, 2012
Playing, learning and recovering in Haiti
It might look like simple fun, but the dominos, coloring pencils, construction blocks, hand puppets, puzzle pieces and memory games are about more than just a good time for children in Haiti. They are part of the thousands of early childhood development kits UNICEF has distributed since Haiti’s devastating earthquake to reintroduce normalcy and stability to the lives of children. The kits are part of a broader UNICEF program to help children recover from the trauma and prepare them for years of learning and growth.
January 13, 2012
Two years after the earthquake, victories for Haiti’s children
Since the 2010 catastrophe, UNICEF has helped more than 750,000 children to return to school. Some 80,000 of these children now attend classes in 193 safe, earthquake-resistant schools constructed by UNICEF. In addition, with UNICEF support, over 120,000 children are enjoying structured play in 520 child-friendly spaces. More than 15,000 malnourished children have received life-saving care through 314 UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding programmes.
January 7, 2012
Guarding families in Haiti from cholera with local water treatment
Deep Springs International is a small non-governmental organization and UNICEF partner that makes a local water treatment product, Gadyen Dlo – Haitian creole for ‘water guardian’. Since the beginning of the cholera outbreak in 2010, the organization has gone from producing a barrel of product a week to producing 35,000 bottles a week.
December 15, 2011
UNICEF at 65: Looking back, thinking ahead
On December, 11 UNICEF celebrated its 65th anniversary. Created in 1946 from the residual resources from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to secure the fate of Europe’s children, few then imagined that it would still be in existence today. Principles of equity were part of UNICEF's guiding vision from the very day of its creation and form part of its mission statement.
November 15, 2011
UNICEF-IKEA partnership delivers toys to Haitian children
Following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, IKEA donated a variety toys to UNICEF that were distributed to displaced children living in temporary camps. For Haiti's children — who continue to be affected by an ongoing cholera epidemic and persistent poverty — these materials are not just diversions from their daily routine. The toys offer important opportunities for play and creative expression.
September 2, 2011
Improving access to safe water in Haiti
UNICEF and its partner Allied Recovery International (ARI) have combined their efforts to provide neighborhoods in Leogane and Port-au-Prince with community wells - a cheaper and sustainable alternative to commercial kiosks. The 60 wells UNICEF and ARI will are between 40 and 60 feet deep which make them unlikely to be contaminated by bacteria like cholera, which has already taken a terrible toll in the region. To date 57 wells are already in use by communities.
