THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD

Published purpose

January 21, 2010 - 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 3,000,000 people have been affected by the disaster, either through injury or through loss of access to life-sustaining necessities such as food, water, sanitation services, and shelter. With Canada’s support, the World Food Programme (WFP) is providing essential air transportation and logistical support to the humanitarian community in its efforts to provide timely and effective assistance to the affected population. This support enables the humanitarian community to implement emergency relief activities in areas inaccessible by surface transportation, including the transport of passengers and key humanitarian relief items, and provides the capacity for timely assessments and medical evaluations. WFP's establishment of emergency telecommunications systems, supply-chain management, and storage facilities is further increasing the humanitarian community's capacity to respond to the crisis.