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HAITI-QUAKE credit REUTERS Ricardo Arduengo header.JPG
Reuters/Ricardo Arduengo
HAITI-QUAKE credit REUTERS Ricardo Arduengo.JPG
Reuters/Ricardo Arduengo
World News

Christian relief efforts thwarted by storms and political unrest in Haiti

by Heather Preston

A Christian relief charity says storms and political unrest are making relief efforts to earthquake victims in Haiti even more challenging.

Haiti was hit by a 7.2 magnitude tremor on Saturday which killed more than 1,900 people and left thousands homeless.

Flash floods and landslides from the arrival of Tropical Storm Grace are now complicating relief efforts for humanitarian groups there, who have had to halt rescue work.

Christian Aid's head of humanitarian division, Michael Mosselmans tells Premier that on top of poor weather conditions, gang violence has also thwarted the progress of support teams.

"There's been some political insecurity since the assassination of the Haitian President [Jovenel Moise] a month ago. So, there are gangs that are controlling a lot of the access roads to the south and therefore it is quite difficult to get supplies through", he said.

In response to these challenges, the UN is rerouting supplies via boats to reach the affected areas.

Mosselmans went on to highlight Covid 19 as another factor impacting humanitarian efforts due to the risk of spreading the virus amongst the population.

Christian Aid is calling on the international community to 'set up' and provide further support for Haiti.

"The situation there is very serious because of the multiple threats people are facing. It would be great to see international donors step up and provide rapid and substantial funding in order to help alleviate the suffering that exists there", Mosselmans told Premier.

The foreign commonwealth and development office is sending out a team to investigate the situation and access what needs to be done, something Mosselmans is hopeful will result in suitable support for Haitian victims.
 

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