Hurricane Matthew has caused major damage, loss of life and injury across the Caribbean, affecting over one million people. The Red Cross is on the ground, responding to the hurricane in the countries impacted. At this time, the Canadian Red Cross is already responding and has sent supplies and three aid workers to Haiti.While the damage from a Category 4 hurricane like Matthew can be severe no matter where it hits, some countries are more vulnerable than others to the impacts of storms. One of the countries hit hard by Matthew is Haiti – and at this time the extent of the damage is not fully known.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a challenging landscape that makes areas at extreme risk for flooding and landslides following storms due to deforestation, and many people living in housing that is not able to withstand the high winds of a hurricane. Areas of Haiti are still recovering from 2010’s devastating earthquake, and its long-lasting impact on things like healthcare and infrastructure.
The Canadian Red Cross has been actively involved in supporting Haiti. In the years since the earthquake we have assisted over 5 million people, providing healthcare, essential items, safe shelter solutions, built 7,500 permanent homes, over 4,500 latrines and more - including helping to construct a new provincial hospital, and rehabilitation of four rural health posts.
The Canadian Red Cross continues to work with the Haitian Red Cross to help build their capacity to respond to emergencies and disasters, like Hurricane Matthew. We are also working in communities in Haiti to help develop programs that best fit their unique needs, at this time this includes improvement of living conditions in a displaced persons camp in Port au Prince and in improving the range of health care and community first aid available to people in the Sud Est region of Haiti as well as mothers and children as a part of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) program.
The Canadian Red Cross will continue to work with Haiti as they recover from the storm. To make a donation to support hurricane relief in impacted countries click here.
To learn more about the work we were able to do in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, thanks to the generous support of Canadians, click here for our donor report.
