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Geneva UN and Red Cross groups work on sanitation, health problems

Installing a water reservoir in the women's prison at Petion-Ville. (photo: ©2010 ICRC/M. Kokic/ht-e-00577)

Work for cash, UNDP programme, Haiti 2010 (photo: ©2010 UNDP on flickr)

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The arrest of 10 Americans accompanying a busload of children being illegally carried out of Haiti and into the Dominican Republic 30 January by a US religious organization has raised fears that children may be separated from members of their family who survived the 12 January earthquake in the country. Two Geneva-based groups, the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and the Geneva office of Unicef, are active in the fight to ensure that children do not become victims of a new Haitian disaster, child trafficking, whether they are orphans or not.

The arrests come as fears are reportedly rising among Haitians of the ancient loup-garou, similar to a werewolf but a predator of children’s spirits, according to the Washington Post.

ICRC’s tracing service, usually deployed in times of conflict, is working closely with the Haitian Red Cross to re-establish family links. Working with lists provided by hospitals and first aid stations, the workers collate information to get families back together. ICRC says almost 1,500 people have been able to make “safe and well” phone calls. So far, it has a list of 25,600 names on its site www.icrc.org/familylinks.

The UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) concentrates on reuniting children with their families.

Unicef experts have conducted surveys among 60 orphanages in Port-au-Prince to identify and register children.

Geneva groups reporting tetanus, chicken pox and water distribution problems

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reports that 340,000 people have moved out of Port-au-Prince, mostly to Arbonite department, west of the capital. The port has been declared unsafe for use, and the airport is operating at peak capacity, with 120 incoming flights a day. (Ed. note: by comparison, Geneva’s airport handles an average of about 150 flights a day).

UNOCHA reports that cases of tetanus and an outbreak of chickenpox have been confirmed. Crowd control around food distribution points remains a serious concern, and the rise in the price of food and basic goods is adding to tensions.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is coordinating with Port-au-Prince authorities to repair the water distribution system in Cité Soleil, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the capital. Water distribution points and first-aid stations have been set up in various neighborhoods of Cité Soleil, according to the ICRC. The inmates and staff members of the women’s prison have been given hygiene kits in Pétion-Ville, on the southern outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Creating paid work

The UN Development Program (UNDP) has set up a work programme for 11,500 people who receive about $4 for a half-day of work clearing rubble and removing rubbish, services the overstretched authorities are not able to provide. The plan is to put 100,000 people to work as quickly as possible, with up to 220,000 as conditions permit. Preference is given to households headed by women who have lost their homes and a member of their family. Photo collection, UNDP on flickr

Moving beyond Port-au-Prince

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFCR) is beginning to shift its focus beyond Port-au-Prince to other towns and cities, also affected by the earthquake. Leogane was a city of 180,000 the day before the quake struck. More than 10,000 people are now camped out in the city’s main football stadium, according to IFRC, which has sent experts to accompany Haitian Red Cross volunteers to make needs assessments.

Links to other sites:ICRC, IFRC,  UN in Geneva, Unicef, Unocha,