PAHO - Pan American Health Organization

Published purpose

21 March 2011 - On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked Port-au-Prince, the capital of the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti. It is estimated that up to 3 million people have been affected by the disaster, many of whom require ongoing humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. This grant to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) aims to support 11 projects to be implemented by PAHO in the health sector, as well as PAHO’s responsibilities as the cluster coordinator for the health cluster. As the lead for the health cluster, PAHO is responsible for coordinating the health sector’s response to the earthquake and to the ongoing cholera epidemic. PAHO’s activities include the provision of medicine and medical equipment to humanitarian organizations and Haitian health facilities, the implementation of a disease surveillance and alert system to allow the humanitarian community to respond quickly and effectively to outbreaks of disease, and technical support to the Haitian Ministry of Health and Population both at the national and regional levels. This grant could go towards funding elements linked to both the earthquake and cholera response as described in the UN consolidated appeal.