(New York) – Just over one month after the Haiti earthquake, the aid community has launched a revised Humanitarian Appeal for USD 1,441,547,920 billion for some three million people badly affected by the disaster, totaling 30% of Haiti’s population. Running from January to December 2010, the Appeal folds in the earlier Flash Appeal of $577 million.

Over 1.2 million people are in need of emergency shelter and require urgent sanitation and hygiene assistance. At least two million require food assistance. In addition, host families and communities are bearing much of the burden of supporting displaced people who fled the worst affected cities, and also need help.

The appeal seeks funding for the following main sectors: agriculture; camp coordination and management; coordination and support services; early recovery; education; emergency shelter and non-food items; emergency telecommunications; food aid; health; logistics; nutrition; protection; and water, sanitation and hygiene. About one-third of the USD 1.44 billion (or USD 480 million) is required for food.

The emergency phase of humanitarian relief operations will have to continue for many months. While improvements have been made in the ability to reach those in need with food, water, healthcare and shelter, humanitarian needs in Haiti remain great. Until the situation stabilizes, and given the urgent need to prepare for the rainy and hurricane seasons, relief and early recovery must increase and be expanded to more people and to so far unreached parts of the country.

“We have to be engaged in Haiti for the long haul, for life-saving relief as well as reconstruction,” said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “To meet the needs of the people of Haiti will require more of the generous global support that we have seen so far,” he added.

Since the initial Flash Appeal was fully funded, with those funds being put against the new revised Humanitarian Appeal, and with some projects already having funding, unmet requirements for this emergency in 2010 are USD 768 million. The size of the revised appeal reflects the scale of the catastrophe, the unmet needs, and the necessity of putting into place the right early recovery basis for reconstruction.

Previously, the largest natural disaster appeal was issued in 2005 for the Indian Ocean Earthquake-Tsunami, which sought some USD 1.41 billion. For 2010, the largest Consolidated Appeal is for Sudan, which seeks USD 1.9 billion.

Like all appeals, this revised Haiti Humanitarian Appeal will be reviewed mid-year, and if necessary revised.

To contribute to relief efforts in Haiti, businesses should visit http//:business.un.org

Contact

OCHA-New York
Stephanie Bunker
(o) +1 917 367 5126
(m) +1 347 244 2106
bunker@un.org

Nicholas Reader
(o) +1 212 963 4961
(m) +1 646 752 3117
reader@un.org

John Nyaga
(o) +1 917 367 9262
(m) +1 917 318 8917
nyagaj@un.org

OCHA-Geneva
Elisabeth Byrs
(o) +41 22 917 2653
(m) +41 79 473 4570
byrs@un.org