KEY DEVELOPMENTS
· As of August 31, Shelter Cluster members had constructed 94,666 transitional shelters (t-shelters). As of September 1, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) partners reported completion of 28,135 t-shelters, or approximately 30 percent of the international total. From May 1, 2010—the start of USAID/OFDA’s t-shelter program—to September 1, 2011, USAID/OFDA partners have built an average of nearly 62 t-shelters per day.
· As of September 18, the Government of Haiti (GoH) Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) reported that the cholera outbreak in Haiti had resulted in more than 450,000 cases, more than 240,000 hospitalizations, and more than 6,000 deaths. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) anticipates the current distribution of cholera rates to remain consistent in the coming two to three years, with moderate peaks, before stabilizing. Artibonite and West departments are likely to be most affected due to poor access to water and sanitation, population density, and natural hazards. OCHA also expects peaks in rates in Center and Grand Anse departments.
· In total, USAID/OFDA provided nearly $39 million in humanitarian assistance to Haiti in FY 2011 in response to ongoing humanitarian needs resulting from the January 2010 earthquake and more than $40 million in response to the cholera outbreak that began in October 2010. USAID/OFDA funding supported shelter and settlements, health, humanitarian coordination and information management, logistics and relief commodities, economic recovery and market systems, protection, natural and technological risks, and water, sanitation, and health (WASH) activities. Overall, the U.S. Government (USG) provided nearly $250 in humanitarian assistance to Haiti in FY 2011, including nearly $80 million from USAID/OFDA, more than $9 million from USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP), more than $130 million from USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI), and $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM).