Ireland has responded quickly and effectively to the devastation and suffering caused by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. Through Irish Aid, my Department organised an airlift of humanitarian supplies from Ireland's prepositioned stocks in Panama, to provide relief to 1,000 families in one of the worst affected areas.
I have approved a total of €1.7 million in funding for experienced NGO partners for the provision of life saving assistance, including shelter, water, sanitation and health activities, and distribution of food. A further airlift of non-food emergency supplies is being planned.
The coordinated international response to Hurricane Matthew has been led by the Government of Haiti, and supported by the UN and the EU. The immediacy of the response was affected by difficult access to the regions most affected and a delay in carrying out needs assessments. The UN issued a Flash Appeal a number of days after the Hurricane seeking $119 million for the provision of life-saving assistance to 750,000 people over the coming three months. The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund has released $5 million to address urgent needs. Ireland last year provided a total of €11.75 million to the Central Emergency Relief Fund, and is its eighth highest international donor.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was also activated in response to a request from the Government of Haiti. This led to the deployment of a Civil Protection Team, with twelve experts from five countries. Ireland's Rapid Response Corps, managed by my Department, stands ready to deploy.
The EU has released funding of €1.75 million in response to the hurricane.
Ireland has been a strong supporter of Haiti since the huge earthquake in 2010, providing a total of €25.9 million in humanitarian and development funding. We are continuing to monitor the situation in the country very closely.
