Photo: Paul Jeffrey, ACT
According to PDA’s partner, Christian Aid, in a statement to members of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) alliance, Ike's “pelting rains couldn't have come at a worse time for Haiti.” Four storms have hit Haiti in recent weeks, resulting in what Christian Aid said was possibly “lasting damage to Haiti's rice bowl.” The rice bowl is a farming area whose revival is needed to assist a country trying to struggle out of a new round of food crises.
In this country where 2.3 million people are at moderate to acute risk of food insecurity, damage to agricultural production is critical.
In the northern Haitian city of Gonaives, Christian Aid reported, “waters were rising even as aid groups struggled to reach people with little or no access to food or water for days. The entire country is affected and most departments are isolated.”
There is massive destruction in agriculture, which has to be seen in the context of the prevailing food crisis and political instability in the country. The immediate needs are for food, water, clothing and medicines.
ACT members, including Christian Aid, have postponed response to damage caused by the previous hurricanes, taking note that emergency responses are not related to one hurricane only but to a sequence of storms following each other.
ACT members are assessing the situation and coordinating their plans to respond, with effort to ensure efficiency and avoid duplication in areas where several ACT members are present.
In addition, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is in contact with our partner, Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP). MPP, a Presbyterian Hunger Program partner, has been working in the Central Plateau and was very involved in responding to previous flooding in Gonaives, Haiti, caused by Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. |
