09 July 2010
On 12 January this year, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The scale of the tragedy is hard to comprehend: an estimated 222,000 dead, more than 300,000 seriously injured, 1.5 million people in need of emergency shelter.
Within an hour of receiving reports about the earthquake, DFID's humanitarian response team was helping to co-ordinate relief efforts, working around the clock over the following days and weeks. A field team was en-route to Haiti within 24 hours. The UK government gave £20 million in emergency support which included a 64 person emergency search and rescue team and funding to directly help more than 380,000 people get access to food, clean water and medical care.
Treatment for survivors
More than half the hospitals in the areas affected by the earthquake were destroyed or damaged and those that remained were overwhelmed with patients. 
The DFID funding helped a surgical team from the medical relief charity Merlin carry out over 350 life saving operations. Many of these patients subsequently received post-operative care from Handicap International (HI). Supported by £500,000 of UKaid, Handicap International continues to rehabilitate people injured during the earthquake as well as helping those with disabilities get access to treatment.
Through organisations like Merlin and Handicap International, and others such as ACTED, Action Against Hunger and Oxfam, UKaid support has also helped to distribute food, improve water and sanitation and provide transitional shelter to thousands of earthquake survivors.
Find out more about Handicap International's work in our photo-case study
A joint effort
DFID was not the only arm of the UK government (HMG) to respond. Working closely with the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and the Stabilisation Unit, HMG 
support has also been provided to a number of UN organisations and the Government of Haiti through the secondment of specialist advisors.
In addition, four British civilian experts from the Stabilisation Unit were assigned to work with the Haitian Ministry of Justice to help with the reconstruction of two of the 19 prisons that were destroyed in the earthquake. The Royal Fleet Auxillary ship, Largs Bay, was also dispatched to Haiti, delivering tonnes of much needed medical supplies, shelter material and other relief items.
As well as HMG support, the British public donated £100 million to the DEC Appeal for Haiti, helping to contribute to one of the largest humanitarian responses ever mounted.
The road to recovery
In total, over 4.3 million people have received food during the last six months and over 1.5 million households have been provided with emergency shelter. Major outbreaks of disease have been avoided so far and children have started going back to school.
However, despite these achievements, life for the Haitian people is still very tough
and massive challenges lie ahead.
Nearly 190,000 houses collapsed or were badly damaged during the earthquake and many people are still living in temporary camps and settlement areas. Conditions are crowded and basic, the camps are vulnerable to flooding and they can be dangerous places for women and girls.
More than 20 million cubic metres of debris was created by the earthquake and rubble blocks the streets, slowing down reconstruction. Added to this, Haiti has just entered the hurricane season which could see one humanitarian disaster compounded by another.
Building back better
The devastation and loss of life that Haiti faced in January 2010 would have left any country reeling. But Haiti was already dealing with pre-existing poverty, hurricane damage and governance problems. Unemployment had reached 80% and more than half the population lived on less than $1.25 a day. Nearly 60% of children were under-nourished and 58% of the population lacked access to clean water.
Reconstruction in Haiti needs to address the problems that existed before the earthquake as well as those caused by it. A further £2 million of UKaid will help with disaster risk reduction to ensure that Haiti is less vulnerable in the future. And the UK will continue to contribute to Haiti's long-term reconstruction through funding multilateral organisations like the World Bank and the EU.
Time, persistence and co-ordination between donors, international agencies, the Government of Haiti and the Haitian people is vital if Haiti is to become a safe, stable nation, worthy of its people.
Key facts and stats
- The earthquake on 12 January 2010 is believed to have killed over 222,000 people, seriously injured another 300,000 and left more than 1.5 million in need of emergency shelter.
- The UK government provided £20 million of humanitarian support to Haiti, mostly for emergency interventions over the first six months.
- A further £2 million of UKaid will support disaster risk reduction initiatives.
- DFID will continue to help with Haiti’s reconstruction through funding multilaterals like the World Bank, the EU and the Inter-American Development Bank. The UK's share of the funds so far announced by these bodies for 2010/11 is over $100 million.
Find out how UK government funding was allocated in Haiti