Haitian Earthquake

U.S. Government External Situation report on orphans and vulnerable children in Haiti
January 30-31, 2010


Haitian Children Affected by the Earthquake

The following information is organized by: 1) Immediate Care and Protection Responses, 2) Orphanages, Tracing and Family Reunification, 3) Safety and Security Threats, 4) Adoption Issues, 5) Coordination on Child Protection Issues.

1) Immediate Care and Protection Responses

§  As of January 29, USAID/OFDA supported IOM and Shelter Cluster partners in distributing 6,000 tarpaulins; 1,948 tents; 800 shelter kits; 3,345 pieces of plastic sheeting; and 400 shelter boxes-each containing a 10-person tent, blankets, water purifiers, mosquito nets, tools, a stove, kitchen equipment, and materials for children-to approximately 36,000 people. [i]
§  On January 29, USAID/DART coordinated additional donations to the SOS Villages in PauP, including six large tents, 100 sleeping pads, and 100 sleeping bags.   [ii]
§  As of January 29, Save the Children set up 16 Mobile Child Friendly Spaces (CFS)  in PAP and Jacmel that serve approximately 10,000 children,.[iii]
§  January 31 was the first day of the new 16-site distribution system for emergency food assistance in PauP. Relief agencies completed distributions at 9 of the sites. USAID/FFP indicates that the new food distribution system is a significant improvement and aims to reach 2 million people during the coming 15 days,greatly expanding the number of food assistance beneficiaries in Port-au-Prince Within the new system: The GoH will assume public leadership, WFP will manage logistics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will distribute food, and JTF-H and MINUSTAH forces will provide security escorts. A system involving public announcements, coupons, and standard rations will help ensure fair and effective distributions and reduce the potential security incidents.[iv]
§  In keeping with best humanitarian practice, only female heads of household will be allowed to collect rice inside the distribution sites (WFP).  However, WFP and NGOs are working with communities to ensure that households without adult female members or with special needs also receive food assistance. [v]
§  Save the Children, Food for the Hungry, Mercy Corps, and Action Contre la Faim plan to meet February 3 to discuss a program for providing cash grants to earthquake-affected households.[vi]

2) Orphanages, Tracing and Family Reunification

§  Tracing teams continue to register separated and unaccompanied children identified at medical facilities, camps, and other locations.  Registered children are provided identification bracelets and picture identification cards.[vii]
§  UNICEF reports that relief organizations have conducted assessments at 102 orphanages as of January 28.[viii]
§  WFP has provided food support to 48 orphanages and hospitals, as part of daily mobile distributions.[ix]

3) Safety and Security Threats
§  On January 31, the USAID/DART protection officer met with an NGO working on protection issues in earthquake-affected areas.  The NGO recently commenced an assessment of child protection issues in spontaneous settlements and noted that preliminary results include reports of sexual violence against girls.  The NGO will begin to provide protection awareness training to the staff of relief agencies distributing food beginning February 1. The NGO also noted that a high risk of secondary separation-when caregivers abandon children to orphanages or other institutions after an emergency in the belief that the children may receive better assistance in an institution-may complicate child protection responses in the current emergency.[x]
§  The daily telegraph reported that, in a remote area north of Port-au-Prince, a man allegedly offered to sell a young boy for just $50 to a Canadian Pastor who rescues orphans in the area The pastor refused. Meanwhile, in camps around the capital there were several reports of men being lynched after being accused by earthquake victims of trying to steal infants from tents. The incident raised fears that child trafficking gangs could move into desperately poor rural areas that have yet to be properly reached by aid agencies.[xi]
§  The USAID/DART reports that InterAction will be the focal point for NGO security issues in light of currently insufficient UNDSS capacity. InterAction has established a direct communication line to UNDSS regarding security issues. USAID/OFDA has provided support to InterAction for NGO security coordination activities since 2007.[xii]
4) Adoption Issues

§   The NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group on Children without Parental Care (New York) and the NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child Working Group on Children without Parental Care (Geneva) sent a letter to US Ambassador Rice supporting efforts to disseminate and implement the UN resolution on the Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children as a framework for providing alternate care, including in emergency situations. Care of unaccompanied and separated children and preventing the separation of families in Haiti is of immediate concern.[xiii]

5) Coordination on Child Protection Issues.

§  Of $9 million USAID/OFDA contributed to UNICEF, $500,000 is designated for coordination and assessment of child protection services.  Of $5 million USAID/OFDA contributed to Save the Children, $893,000 will support child protection activities.[xiv]
§  Save the Children is chairing a working group on Child Friendly Spaces to help agencies align standards, facilitate policies, etc.  SC's Child Friendly Spaces Handbook is available in French and was shared with the MHPSS group.[xv]
§  The USAID/DART continues to advocate for close coordination between the WASH Cluster and the Protection Cluster to monitor WASH conditions at orphanages. In future, the Protection Cluster will report water and sanitation needs at orphanages to the WASH Cluster to facilitate response interventions.[xvi]
§  Oxfam reported plans to conduct an early recovery assessment in Carrefour Feuilles [xvii]
§  The U.N. GBV Working Group is encouraging humanitarian organizations to mainstream gender concerns into relief programming.  The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) and the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) plan to initiate data collection and analysis in the coming days, while the working group identifies required psychosocial activities and maps police station locations.[xviii]
§  The Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) Sub-working Group on Gender produced a paper on the nature and scope of sexual violence in Haiti, prior to the earthquake, and Haitian laws.  The paper is meant to inform humanitarian actors on previous manifestations of sexual violence in Haiti and contains some specific information on abuse of children in domestic situations.[xix]
§  The Inter-American Children's Institute sent a Joint Statement from the Representatives for Children of the Member States on the situation of children in Haiti to the US Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States (OAS). The statement emphasized the best interests of the child, international regulations aimed at family reunification and a request to activate an appropriate joint strategy for the care of Haitian children deprived of parental/alternative care.[xx]
§  Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) issued a statement on Haitian children and Best Interests Determination for Separated and Unaccompanied Haitian Children.  LIRS also participated in a congressional briefing to share its observations and recommendations.[xxi]


[i] USAID BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)HAITI - EarthquakeFact Sheet #17, January 29, 2010
[ii] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #35 - January 30, 2010
[iii] . Save the Children update email to USAID - Jan 28, 2010
[iv] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #36 - January 31, 2010
[v] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #36 - January 31, 2010
[vi] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA).
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #38 - February 1, 2010
[vii] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #37 - January 31, 2010
[viii] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #37 - January 31, 2010
[ix] BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)HAITI - EarthquakeFact Sheet #18, January 30, 2010
[x] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA).
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #38 - February 1, 2010
[xi] Haiti earthquake: orphans for sale for $50. Nick Allen in Haiti Published: 9:17AM GMT 28 Jan. daily telegraph 2010http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7086466/Haiti-earthquake-orphans-for-sale-for-50.html
[xii] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #36 - January 31, 2010
[xiii] The NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group on Children without Parental Care (New York) and the NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child Working Group on Children without Parental Care (Geneva) letter to US Ambassador Rice, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Jan 28
[xiv] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #37 - January 31, 2010
[xv] Save the Children update email to USAID - Jan 28, 2010
[xvi] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce(SBU) Situation Report #34 - January 30, 2010
[xvii] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA).
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #38 - February 1, 2010
[xviii] U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
USAID Haiti Earthquake Taskforce (SBU) Situation Report #35 - January 30, 2010
[xix] Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Subgroup on Gender in Humanitarian Action: http://gender.oneresponse.info Jan 29, 2010.  info shared via DOS/USAID email exchange, Jan 30th
[xx] Inter-American Children's Institute sent a Joint Statement of the Representatives for Children of the Member States on the situation of children in Haiti to the US Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States (OAS). Jan 29
[xxi] Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Statement and link to congressional briefing http://www.lirs.org/site/c.nhLPJOPMKuG/b.5765609/k.9018/Haiti_Response.htm