Haiti aid agencies warn: chaotic and confusing relief effort is costing lives

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

International aid agencies have warned that Haitians are dying needlessly amid "utter chaos" in the organisation of relief efforts after last week's devastating earthquake. Some have called for the US to take direct control over the rescue operation, while others have said the Americans are part of the problem.

A week into the disaster, aid has failed to reach most Haitians amid logistical confusion and disputes over priorities as the population grows ever more desperate.

Médecins sans Frontières says confusion over who is running the relief effort – the US which controls the main airport, or the UN which says it is overseeing distribution – may have led to hundreds of avoidable deaths because it has not been able to get essential supplies in to the country. "The co-ordination ... is not existing or not functioning at this stage," said Benoit Leduc, MSF's operations manager in Port-au-Prince. "I don't really know who is in charge. Between the two systems (the US and the UN) I don't think there is smooth liaison who decides what."

John O'Shea , the head of the Irish medical charity, Goal, echoed the criticism. He said the Haitian earthquake was one of the most difficult disasters his agency had dealt with but at least there were no political obstacles to aid deliveries, as in Burma and Sudan.

"That means there is only one thing stopping a massive and prodigious aid effort being rolled out and that is leadership and co-ordination. You have neither in Haiti at the moment," he said. "You have the US military doing their thing at the airport. You have the United Nations saying we're in control of food distribution but the United Nations is not taking the pro-active role that they should be taking. And you have a Haitian president saying he's in charge and the Americans being politically correct and saying they will work under him. This is all going to lead to a situation of utter chaos. I can't get all my trucks in from the Dominican Republic because I have no guarantee that the people driving them are not going to be macheted to death on the way down. I can't let my doctors and nurses out on the street of Port-au-Prince."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/18/haiti-aid-distribution-confusion-warning

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As the head of Indonesia's disaster team said (in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihK-aQKlAwc">this interview filmed prior to the Indonesians boarding a plane to Haiti) "what we need is leadership. There should be a disaster commander who is tough and understands how to distribute aid".

[kayla9170]

1. OH BOY............

This is going to get interesting..........

:popcorn:

[groundloop]

2. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't

Let's hope that all involved learn from the mis-steps.

[bdamomma]

3. after a week there is still no organization or coordination

and compound that with no government leadership in Haiti. just really sucks.

[bread_and_roses]

4. this is unbelievable

I cannot believe it - how is this happening? Yesterday on news hearing of coastal towns where there has been NO aid presence at all - a town got a search and rescue team yesterday but no one left alive to rescue in the crumbled buildings, a school..

I'm not throwing blame around, but how the hell is it that no one can get any WATER to these people? It is heart-breaking, it's like Katrina, one sits here helpless just hearing of more and more dying.

[Roland99]

5. Where's James Lee Witt when ya need him in charge?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

7. Remember Katrina 10 fold...and the man in charge down there is a Bush hold over USAID and he .....

reminds me of "you're doing a heck of a job Brownie"....he is a man of the same cloth as Brownie
even talks like him...Captain Andrew Stevermer

[Waiting For Everyman]

6. No way, it's all being done perfectly.

:sarcasm:

I know, because the DU "experts" told me so. Anyone who would say otherwise is "clueless".

Especially our top deskjockey management, like USAID, they're doing a bangup job. The people in this article just don't understand logistics and disaster relief.

No need to worry any further. The survivors in Haiti are A-ok.

[FedUpWithIt All]

9. It has been a frustrating week watching this all play out from a distance.

x(

I cannot imagine what it has been like for the people of Haiti.

[Bragi]

8. George W Bush has only been on the job a few days now

War criminal turned humanitarian George W Bush promised on the weekend that he'll be making sure aid money gets properly spent.

I'm sure things will get straightened out soon.