Destruction scene in the city of Les Cayes, located south west of Haiti and among the regions the most affected by the earthquake on 14  August . Rawley Crews / HI

Destruction scene in the city of Les Cayes, located south west of Haiti and among the regions the most affected by the earthquake on 14  August . Rawley Crews / HI

In response to the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on 14 August, killing more than 2,200 people, emergency response teams from Luxembourg-based NGOs have been deployed to the island as they rally support for victims.

In the past week, rescue units from several organisations have deployed experts to the island nation as part of post-disaster interventions. Haitians continue to grapple with the long-term effects of the earthquake that shook the southwestern coast of Haiti followed by tropical storm Grace on 16 August, less than 72 hours later. Combined, these events have intensified the misfortune of thousands left homeless and injured, and hundreds more who are still missing.

On 18 and 19 August, Handicap International (HI) deployed emergency response units from two of its operating centres in Brussels and Lyon including eight experts to Haiti to evaluate the situation and conduct a needs assessment. A physiotherapy expert from Luxembourg is expected to arrive in Haiti in the future to monitor the transition between the actual state of emergency and long-term developments .

“With the main routes destroyed, most people couldn’t escape. We have been working with at-risk and vulnerable populations, and not just people who are handicapped, although they represent a majority for us,” says Mehdi Magha, the director of Handicap International Luxembourg who took office about a year ago.

The HI emergency response team on the ground has since begun the training of seven physiotherapist recruits and a physical therapy assistant in emergency rehabilitation to support local hospitals and a rehabilitation centre in Les Cayes, where the recruits simultaneously treat injured patients in local medical facilities. The Luxembourg-based organisation is also in the process of negotiating an emergency response envelop with the ministry of foreign affairs.

The training programme aims to train the recruits in emergency response and in providing long-term rehabilitation support to the community. Currently, the HI team--mostly made up of local partners--includes about 60 people and intervenes in whole country in emergency situations including in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Cap-Haïtien, Ounaminthe, the AMP area (Delmas, Tabarre, Petion-ville, Carrefour), and Les Cayes.

“Access to humanitarian aid has been hindered by transportation difficulties considering gang violence and destroyed infrastructure on major routes leading to the earthquake scene, which is about 160km away from the HI base in Port-au-Prince, close to where the major earthquake hit in 2010,” says Magha, adding that NGOs on the ground are in close collaboration with local authorities including the Haitian civil protection directorate (DGPC) to coordinate rescue efforts.

The mission in Haiti comes a year after resources where mobilised following the 4 August 2020 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, where the HI team has so far provided psychosocial support to 703 people, various rehabilitation services to over 1,200 beneficiaries and hygienic supplies to more than 1,300 households, among other projects. Many others remain on the waiting list for various services as the situation remains precarious.

Some other interventions in Haiti.

Luxembourg’s Red Cross teams have also sent two experts to Haiti, including Nadine Conrardy, director of its social aid and health department, and Myriam Jacoby, the project manager of its international aid department, as part of humanitarian network IFRC’s emergency response unit.

“It is necessary to have both financial support for the local population but also teams of experts who can be deployed as quickly as possible to work on the ground,” says Brice Goedert, the coordinator of humanitarian missions within the Luxembourg Red Cross,

Two members of the grand ducal fire and rescue corps (CGDIS) left for Haiti , with a CGDIS volunteer deployed a week before to support a UN team.

As part of an EU air bridge operation aiming to deliver over 125 tonnes of life-saving materials to humanitarian organisations active in Haiti, a first flight with supplies including medical equipment, medicines, water, and sanitation and hygiene items arrived in Port-au-Prince on 27 August, according to a press release by the European Commission. A second flight is expected to reach the country in the coming days.

The EU has mobilised over €14m in humanitarian aid for Haiti since the start of 2021, including €3m for urgent humanitarian assistance in affected communities at the onset of the earthquake crisis. The EU is also coordinating aid offers from member states, including Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden.

In the meantime, some of the most urgent humanitarian needs identified by Handicap International include rehabilitation services and distribution of mobility aids, psychosocial and mental health support, transportation and logistical support, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and other basic needs such as food, shelter, and cash transfers.

The social difficulties faced by the country are worsened by the political climate following the July assassination of president Jovenel Moïse in his residence in Port-au-Prince.