Amid escalating violence and political unrest in Haiti, CharityWatch reached out to several Top-Rated charities with a history of working in the region to understand what aid they are continuing to provide.
Direct Relief responded to CharityWatch’s inquiry on March 12, 2024. We hope you find this information useful as you consider how best to support Haitian relief efforts during this difficult time.
Is your organization still operating in Haiti? If yes, please describe your operations there.
"Over the past year, Haiti has experienced a substantial
resurgence of insecurity in many Port-au-Prince metropolitan area
neighborhoods. This has created a hostile environment for communities, limiting
access to essential resources including food, water, shelter, and healthcare
services. Additionally, Haiti has dealt with storms, flooding, landslides, and
a cholera outbreak."
"Direct Relief has been actively involved in humanitarian
efforts, including providing aid to Haiti in response to various crises, such
as natural disasters and health emergencies, for many years. During this
time, Direct Relief has maintained a strong relationship with its network
of health care focused organizations in Haiti and continues to work to support
ongoing response. Direct Relief this month granted $1 million in funding to
nine local organizations in Haiti to help offset the increased costs associated
with operating in the country."
"In addition to the $1 million in grant funding, Direct
Relief has provided more than $3.2 million in medical aid to 11 healthcare
organizations in Haiti since March 2023."
Considering the political instability that has escalated in recent days, can you share how your organization is responding? Specifically, are you working to evacuate your staff, contractors, or other contacts, or are you continuing to provide aid, and in what capacity?
"With cash support critical at this time, the most recent
$1 million grant funding commitment by Direct Relief will provide much needed
operational support to nine organizations in Haiti, providing them the
critically needed funding to continue to see patients during this period of
insecurity."
"Direct Relief’s model of humanitarian aid involves
identifying, vetting, and responding to the medical resource needs of local
organizations. As such, Direct Relief maintains regular contact with and
supports on an ongoing basis a network of dozens of on-the-ground nonprofit
organizations in Haiti including hospitals and clinics. This allows Direct
Relief to respond efficiently to the needs of local organizations without
requiring its own in-country staff."
Are you currently collecting donations specifically for Haiti relief currently being conducted in the country? If so, can you share a link to that specific donation page?
Direct Relief is not currently accepting restricted donations for Haiti on its website. However, if people are interested in restricting their donation to Haiti, they can do so by emailing [email protected]. People can make an unrestricted gift to Direct Relief by visiting https://www.directrelief.org/donate.
Can you share your imminent, future plans for conducting charitable work in Haiti? Meaning, do you intend to evacuate your staff, contractors, or other contacts, or do you at this time intend to continue your work there?
"Direct Relief is committed to supporting Haiti through
the immediate crisis and on a long-term basis through collaboration with the
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and its network of health care focused
organizations operating on the ground."
"Direct Relief has supported Haiti continuously for
decades, having provided more than $400 million in medical resources and
financial assistance to the country since 2010."
Is there any additional information you would like to share?
"Haiti has been one of the organization’s largest aid
recipient countries since the 2010 earthquake, with Direct Relief providing
$418 million in medicines and medical aid to more than 200 recipient
organizations and providing more than $5 million in grant funding support."
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