Taiwan will accompany Haiti in the reconstruction
The Embassy of Taiwan (Republic of China) in Haiti informs that 25 tons of humanitarian aid from the Government of Taiwan and Taiwanese Civil Society were officially handed over on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 by Ambassador Wen-Jiann Ku to the Prime Minister ai Ariel Henry who was accompanied in particular by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Claude Joseph.
This humanitarian aid, made up among others of : oxygen concentrators, masks, protective suits, sleeping bags, dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, sanitary kits, among others, is a joint action of the Taiwanese Government, the charitable Buddhist foundation Tzu-Chi and the Taiwanese Red Cross.
In his remarks for the occasion, Ambassador Ku said he was convinced that this donation will help forge the international solidarity that will accompany Haiti in meeting the challenge of the earthquake of August 14th
The Embassy wishes to remind the general public that Taiwan’s contribution is not limited solely to this donation of humanitarian aid, through its bilateral cooperation projects Taiwan has been able to provide adequate, immediate and multi-faceted support from the very start moments of this disaster and will accompany Haiti in reconstruction.
Farmers need immediate investment
To harvest enough, farmers need an immediate investment, but the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is “hampered by low levels of funding for this essential work,” the organization underlined.
“About 980,000 inhabitants of the departments of Haiti affected by the 7.2 earthquake that hit the Great South on August 14 are facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or more, for the period September 2021 – February 2022) FAO reported, specifying that the figure included 320,000 people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). The Organization drew this figure from an analysis of a population of 2.18 million people, which revealed 29% without need, 26% in stress, 30% in crisis, 15% in emergency.
Although Haiti “has long been vulnerable on several fronts, the earthquake exacerbated the problems, destroying markets, rural roads, storage and processing facilities, dairies and irrigation systems […] Tropical storm Grace, which hit Haiti days after the earthquake, caused further damage,” explained José Luis Fernández, FAO representative in Haiti.
He recalls that “The winter planting season should begin in October. However, the ability of farmers in the Great South to cultivate has been severely affected. To harvest enough, farmers need investment immediately, but we are hampered by the low level of funding […]”
In this situation, FAO is asking for $20 million to cover the most urgent needs. The sum should be sufficient to restore the livelihoods of 32,000 rural households, where 160,000 people live.
Of these households, 15,000 will receive seeds and funds to await harvest, 10,000 will receive small livestock and 7,000 will benefit from the restoration of damaged infrastructure.In addition, veterinary teams will be deployed in the affected areas and work will be carried out to reactivate sea fishing and fish farming..
