The damage wrought on Haiti’s infrastructure by Tuesday’s 7.0 earthquake has made it extremely difficult for aid agencies to deliver much needed food and medicine. The Los Angeles Times reports how Haitians have taken matters into their own hands, looting a warehouse in Port-au-Prince where the World Food Programme (WFP) stored 15,000 tons of food supplies. It is unclear how much of the food was taken, but this incident will spark concern for the increasing desperation of survivors, as well as the safety of aid supplies and those delivering them.
Despite the looting, WFP is committed to providing food aid and supplies to those affected by the earthquake and has set up a page on its site explaining “How to Help Haiti.”
While delivery of aid will be complicated by the devastation, the international community is preparing a response to the natural disaster. The United Nations has pledged $10 million to “kick-start” the global response, and will deploy its various aid agencies to provide support to Haiti. The UN will draw upon donations to its Central Emergency Response Fund to support its humanitarian efforts.
The United States response, a combination of pledged monetary aid, humanitarian assistance and logistical support, is detailed in FPA’s U.S. Role in the World blog.
Posted by Michael Lucivero.
