Fifty-three Members of Congress Urge Obama Administration to Address “Appalling Conditions” in Haiti

[EFerrari]

Fifty-three Members of Congress Urge Obama Administration to Address “Appalling Conditions” in Haiti’s IDP Camps

Wednesday, 20 April 2011 14:44


Today, fifty-three Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underscoring the gross inadequacy of relief efforts of USAID, International Organization of Migration (IOM) and other aid organizations in Haiti’s camps for the internally displaced (IDPs).

Co-sponsored by Representatives Yvette Clarke (NY), Donald Payne (NJ) and Frederica Wilson (FL), the letter urges the administration to focus its attention on the deteriorating situation in the camps, in particular the lack of water, sanitation and other basic services; the increase in gender-based violence; and the frequent occurrence of forced evictions of camp residents.

The letter comes in the wake of the latest Humanitarian Bulletin published by the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which provides an alarming overview of the IDP situation. According to the report, only 19% of the US$175 million funding requirement for basic water and sanitation needs of “transitional shelter and spontaneous camp residents” have been met by donors. This situation, the bulletin states, will have “direct consequences on the health situation of vulnerable populations” and puts individuals in densely populated urban areas at “heightened risk of cholera and water-borne disease contamination,” particularly with the imminent onset of Haiti’s rainy season.

The congressional letter also notes the “strong chance” of a new “spike in cholera” if nothing is done to improve IDP camp conditions quickly. It recommends that greater “accountability and transparency be brought to the task of IDP assistance”, in particular with regard to the efforts of USAID and IOM. It also calls on the Obama Administration to require contracting NGOs to provide complete coverage of IDP camps (presently a majority of camps are not covered) and to consult and coordinate directly with IDP communities.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/relief-and-reconstruction-watch/fifty-three-members-of-congress-urge-obama-administration-to-address-appalling-conditions-in-haitis-idp-camps?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[Obamanaut]

1. The Obama administration should address the appalling conditions

in parts of the United States.

[EFerrari]

2. The US has been controlling the funds collected FOR Haiti.

And of course, it has political control over Haiti.

So, yes, Obama has an obligation to do something about the horrible conditions in Haiti which have resulted from both the failure of the relief funds to REACH Haiti and from the US meddling in Haitian politics.

[Obamanaut]

3. I reread my response. It did not say anything about the conditions in

Haiti, or doing anything about them.

53 members of congress want the administration to do something about Haiti.

People in the US are jobless, homeless, and healthcareless. Roads and bridges are falling apart. Friends and relatives are being dismembered and killed in various countries where they have no business being. These are apalling conditions here, in the good ole USA, and they should be addressed.

[EFerrari]

5. The US is holding Haiti's money and government hostage.

Obama needs to move.

That has nothing to do with our domestic situation which, as someone who has been unemployed for more than two years and who is in a continuing fight against foreclosure, I could start another thread about.

[Modern_Matthew]

4. +1,000 nt