UNICEF’ presence: Haiti earthquake

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) works for children’s rights, their survival, development and protection according to the Convention of the Rights of the Child. UNICEF focuses its efforts in a constant way in many countries around the world but, when an unfortunately disaster occurs, UNICEF does not hesitate in making an extraordinary movement to help. That is the case of the earthquake occurred in Haiti in 2010 where over 222,000 people died and over 300,000 were injured. UNICFE has been working with partners since the earthquake struck to make sure children get help. The most important help that UNICEF have given to children in Haiti is based on: medical care, food, and shelter.

After the earthquake in Haiti, the rates of under-five, and maternal mortality increased due to the lack of sanitarian conditions and the spread of diseases. Diarrhoea, respiratory infections, malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS are the leading causes of death. UNICEF had to seek for medical supplies from its partners in order to improve the routine immunization coverage. In a big effort to reduce maternal mortality, UNICEF provided medical equipment and training to reopen health facilities that had been closed for up to a year where a lot of pregnant women are expected to benefit. Finally, another important aspect is that UNICEF promotes voluntary counseling and testing facilities that have successfully kept rates of mother-to-child transmission of AIDS very low.

Obviously, another issue in Haiti is children’s feeding which is essential to prevent malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality. Many of the problems among Haitian children are due to chronic malnutrition and problems with the water supply systems. Feeding has always been a general problem in Haiti, but after the earthquake it increased mainly in children less than six months of age. These children need breastfeeding and sadly not all of them have their own mom. Due to that, the coordination and search of women for breastfeeding is very important. In the case of children above six months of age, UNICEF tries to give them the basic nutrients using age-appropriated food provided by local places if possible.

After the earthquake, the devastation was really unbelievable with kilometers and kilometers of debris from houses and buildings. People in Haiti tried to use that material because most of it was useful, but it was not enough to provide normal or minimal conditions to affected people. UNICEF searched for companies that could provide machinery, materials and professionals to help the labors in Haiti related to constructions of shelter especially for children. Problems that complicated this action were the lack of good communication systems; most of the accesses by land were destroyed in many areas. Even though, UNICEF did not stop its efforts and the constant seek of help from its partners and through world campaigns using celebrities, sports stars and many channels to let the people know the need in Haiti due to the earthquake.

 

Helping people when a natural disaster occurs is a very good way to show our human sense, but to give this help as an international organization like UNICEF deserves a special mention. UNICEF has been crucial in Haiti before and after the earthquake in 2010. UNICEF has given not only help just because but also has precisely provided such help in an organized way. The need of taking medical care of children after that level of devastation is a big deal; in this case UNICEF’s partners took a very relevant participation helping to get medicines, equipment, and personnel. Also, imagine having feeding hundreds of children in many locations with access difficulties and communication problems that required a very good synchrony of human efforts. Finally, of course, people do not only need to be healthy and fed, they need a safe place to stay but with the destruction produced by a strong earthquake, all houses and buildings were destroyed. Here UNICEF one more time moved its resources and contacts to provide a minimal conditioned place where people, especially children could live. UNICEF is an exemplary global organization about what we should know more; we have to pay attention to this kind of global aid movements and find a way to help in the way we can.