On Friday, Haiti marked the one month anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which had left the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere in the dire situation of providing food and shelter to nearly 1 million displaced survivors.
Following recent outbreaks of violence by Haitians seeking food aid and supplies, feelings of desperation among many quake survivors continues to run high, as access to permanent shelters also remains elusive. Haitians have been seeking temporary relief in tents made of sticks and sheets. The BBC reports that only 47% of the funding needed for shelter and sanitation projects has been spent.
The Haitian government has taken steps towards improving the unequal and sometimes chaotic distribution of food by asking all non-governmental aid groups in the county to work together in ensuring streamlined distribution policies.
PBS NewsHour, reports on attempts to utilize Haiti’s agricultural sector to create a long-term solution to Haiti’s pervasive food shortages. This measure may only have a limited impact toward making Haiti a self-sustaining food supplier, as Haiti’s agriculture sector provided only 27% of GDP prior to the earthquake and 75% of Haiti’s food came from foreign sources.
The U.S. military aid mission delivered much of the needed aid and logistics for rebuilding, but will be scaled down as of this week. Their work to rebuild and expand Haiti’s ports and reopen its international airport will ease the rebuilding process, which will continue for much of the foreseeable future.
Read more from NPR for a photo journal of the post-earthquake landscape and the Huffington Post for a breakdown of post-earthquake numbers, one month on.
By Patricia Lee and Michael Lucivero.
