UN: Haiti Humanitarian Crisis “Not Over”

Above: UN Under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos (UN Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Humanitarian assistance must continue in Haiti, alongside development and reconstruction work, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said today.

“The humanitarian crisis in Haiti is not over,” she said. “While major efforts are being made to put the country on the road to recovery, important humanitarian needs remain and must be addressed.”

Amos, who is visiting Haiti, said she had gone to a camp housing 25,000 people and found that water and sanitation services had deteriorated because of a lack of resources.

“I was very concerned when I visited the camp — water and sanitation facilities have deteriorated over the last few months because of that lack of resources and many of our NGO partners have left.”

Amos was speaking in an interview with UN Radio.

“We have to help those remaining people while at the same time working with the government on the longer-term sustainable development,” she said. “One oft major concerns I have is that humanitarian appeal for Haiti is only half funded because there is a lot of focus for longer-term development, which I think is absolutely right — I don’t think we want to stay doing humanitarian work for longer than we need to.”

Amos said she met briefly with President Michel Martelly yesterday.

“My sense from speaking to the President, and it was a brief meeting, is that he is frustrated because he wants investment, he wants economic growth, he wants jobs for the people, he wants development,” she said.