Direct Relief uses all contributions designated for the Haiti Earthquake solely for relief and recovery efforts related to the Haiti Earthquake.
Quick Facts
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake originated 7.5 miles northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud, Haiti, on Aug. 14, 2021.
Many areas sustained significant damage, including collapsed buildings and infrastructure, and fatalities are still being assessed.
Medical aid from Direct Relief is staged at hospitals in Haiti. The organization is in contact with and supports health facilities across the nation.
Responding to Immediate Medical Needs in Haiti
Direct Relief has a long history of support to medical facilities and healthcare partners throughout Haiti, including during the 2010 earthquake and the subsequent recovery efforts that would take place over the next decade. Over the past decade, the organization has provided more than $321 million in medical support to health clinics and hospitals, and long-standing relationships with local organizations providing care in the country allow Direct Relief to respond rapidly.
Response to the 2021 Haiti Earthquake
Direct Relief has staff on the ground in Haiti, as well as firmly established relationships with a number of local partners and with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional branch of the World Health Organization.
Emergency medical modules that Direct Relief pre-positioned in the region have been deployed from Port-au-Prince with medical teams to affected areas to meet the overwhelming need for medical attention. Each module contains significant quantities of the medicines and supplies that Haitian health facilities and doctors are currently requesting: antibiotics, wound care items, and medical outreach packs, among other aid.
Additional Direct Relief emergency medical modules have been routed to Haiti from the organization’s Puerto Rico warehouse and from PAHO’s Panama facility. Seven pallets of PPE, medical relief backpacks, and emergency shelters arrived at St. Boniface Hospital in Fond-des-Blancs from Direct Relief’s Puerto Rico distribution hub, and Direct Relief also provided $250,000 in emergency operational cash support to St. Boniface.
When the earthquake struck, Direct Relief had three ocean freight containers of PPE and other medical supplies already en route to Haiti. These supplies are on their way to the Haiti-based organization Partners in Health, St. Boniface Hospital, and St. Damien Hospital.
In total, more than 192 pallets worth of medical aid from Direct Relief totaling $12.8M has arrived recently in Haiti, is en route, or is ready for deployment.
Direct Relief mobilized a FedEx humanitarian emergency MD-11 aid charter of urgently needed medical supplies to Haiti, and the flight included 165 pallets of antibiotics, wound care items, PPE, diagnostic supplies, medical-grade freezers, IV fluids, medical relief packs, essential medications. Those emergency shipments are being stored at Direct Relief’s Haiti warehouse and distributed by Direct Relief’s Port au Prince-based staff, enabling healthcare providers to continue providing lifesaving services to their communities and patients from areas with damaged or destroyed health infrastructure.
Six pallets containing emergency backpacks, tents, and hygiene kits arrived this week in Les Cayes by private charter to the Colorado Haiti Project in Petit-Trou-de-Nippes near the earthquake’s epicenter.
Direct Relief is currently coordinating with a coalition of responders, including University of Miami Doctors, Partners in Health, St. Boniface Hospital, St. Luke’s Foundation/St. Damien Hospital, PAHO, the Haitian Global Health Alliance (GHESKIO), and the organization’s own regional staff in Haiti.
Currently, the primary challenge is transporting medical aid on the ground within Haiti. Road closures, landslides, and gang activity make ground transportation treacherous. However, Direct Relief has worked in Haiti for several decades with on-the-ground partners and is working to navigate these obstacles on the ground.
