Fact Sheet
NGO Impact in Haiti
For more information,
please contact:
Nasserie Carew
Senior Director of
Public Relations
InterAction
ncarew@interaction.org
202.667.8227
Tawana Jacobs
Senior Public Relations Manager
InterAction
tjacobs@interaction.org
202.667.8227
InterAction is the largest
alliance US-based
nongovernmental international
humanitarian relief and
development organizations
with 190 members. Our
members operate in every
developing country, working
with local communities to
overcome poverty and suffering
by helping to improve their
quality of life.
www.InterAction.org
1400 16th Street, NW
Suite 210
Washington, DC 20036
202-667-8227
January 2010
Key Points
• InterAction members are working in coordination with the United Nations and
the United States Government to provide emergency food assistance, other emer-
gency relief supplies, shelter, logistics, water, and health care to those affected by
the earthquake.
• InterAction members have raised $352,394,254 collectively to support relief efforts
in Haiti, from private donations and in-kind support from corporations.
• While an exact number of beneficiaries is impossible to calculate, our members
have had an impact throughout Haiti. For example, since the earthquake:
• Save the Children has reached 105,920 beneficiaries to date.
• Through partners, UMCOR provided safe water to over 200,000 people.
• World Concern is distributing one-month supplies of rice, beans, oil and other sta-
ples to 25,000 people.
• InterAction members have been working in Haiti for up to 55 years. They have lost
staff and family members, but have also been able to rapidly deploy assistance
due to existing networks. There are currently 2,277 staff members supporting 80
InterAction members’ relief efforts on the ground in Haiti. A total of 80 InterAction
agencies are responding to the crisis.
Search and Rescue Operations
Many of our members were on the ground when the earthquake hit. Most became first
responders in search and rescue operations. Many staff and family members were lost.
Emergency Food Assistance and Food Security
Members are implementing programs in areas where they were operating before the earth-
quake and have also expanded to the areas that were hardest hit by the disaster. While food
is being distributed for immediate relief, members also have plans to help with longer-term
food security over the coming months. Emergency food supplies, including high-protein and
vitamin-fortified biscuits for children, emergency meals, and staples such as corn, rice, beans
and crackers, have been provided for over 200,000 people, with further supplies for the next
several months planned to go to a further two million.
Shelter
Members have provided shelter and supplies for over 40,700 people in at least 13 camps.
Current aid consists mostly of shelter kits, tents, mattresses and blankets. Plans for future
shelter projects to aid recovery include working with the local population to do needs assess-
 ments and reconstruction, rebuilding homes, and imple-
menting a cash-for-work program for people to help clear
debris, some of which could be recycled into new buildings.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Members have delivered clean water in a number of
ways. Over 120 different water distribution sites have been
set up, helping 106,000 people. Nearly five million packs
and tablets to counter dehydration have already been dis-
tributed, with another six million on the way. Water purifica-
tion systems have been set up, and numerous latrines have
been built. There are also plans to begin repairs on the city’s
sanitation systems and the water infrastructure.
Logistics
Several member organizations are experts at providing
logistics assistance during the aftermath of disasters across
the globe. In the last two weeks, members have sent emer-
gency first-response teams; collected and shipped tons of
food, medical and shelter supplies, and are storing addi-
tional relief and supplies until shipment becomes available;
coordinated transportation for shipments via ocean freight,
cargo and personnel flights, and convoys from the Domini-
can Republic; established emergency operations commu-
nications centers on the ground; and established camps for
internally displaced persons. Members are also collecting
data and creating maps to facilitate the relief effort and are
working through already-existing community-based net-
works to maximize their impact.
Emergency Relief Supplies
Most of our members are providing emergency relief
supplies and services in some form throughout the country.
Supplies include food, clothing, satellite phones for hospi-
tals, debris removal tools, fuel and a diverse array of medical
supplies. Services include emergency medical treatment,
post-disaster psychological counseling, veterinary treat-
ments for affected animals, micro credit operations, family
linking services, creating child-safe spaces to protect vul-
nerable children from exploitation or abuse, transportation
services out of Port-au-Prince and longer term recovery
plans for reconstruction.
Health
The Government of Haiti Ministry of Health is helping
to coordinate the medial relief effort and is shifting from
focusing on emergency surgical cases to primary health
care, health centers, and hospitals. There are 48 operational
hospitals with surgical capacity in Port-au-Prince and 12
field hospitals. Additionally, several InterAction members
have set up medical clinics, including some geared specifi-
cally to the needs of women and children. To communicate
medicine availability, the Ministry of Health is broadcast-
ing radio messages to reach relief agencies, hospitals, and
clinics. Many of our members have deployed hundreds of
medical personnel. They have also sent donations of vital
medical supplies and equipment of all kinds, of a combined
value over $11 million. Some of the personnel and supplies
are geared to the immediate relief effort, like the emer-
gency response teams and shipments of first aid supplies,
blood transfusion supplies, and surgical supplies. Others are
intended for longer term recovery, such as physical thera-
pists for the wave of amputees, and education services to
help reduce the second wave of casualties due to wounds
and contamination.
Long-term Development
Well after emergency responders have left, InterAction
members will continue to provide assistance to Haiti long
after the initial response. Various members already have
plans to raise $71 million to invest in reconstruction. Those
funds will go to rebuilding community centers, clinics, and
schools; replanting crops and farms to reestablish the local
food supply and provide sources of income; reconstruct-
ing larger sanitation systems and water infrastructure;
rebuilding Haiti’s health care system; rebuilding destroyed
homes; providing long-term mental health services to first-
responders, affected communities and children; and cash-
for-work programs that will pay survivors a daily wage to
clear debris, restore buildings and repair basic infrastruc-
ture while allowing them to reinvest in their communities’
economies.
In-kind Donations
One of the benefits of InterAction’s coalition is their ability
to secure in-kind donations in humanitarian emergencies.
Examples of post-earthquake corporate response include
flights for cargo and personnel, water purification materials,
medical supplies, satellite phones, shelter materials, genera-
tors, and light towers.
For more information on members’ relief efforts in Haiti,
please see the full version of this document which will be
posted on InterAction’s website in early February.