Two Years After Haiti Earthquake, American Red Cross Remains Very Active in Recovery Efforts

Two years after the Haiti earthquake, the American Red Cross continues to help people rebuild their home and lives, with hundreds of millions of dollars committed to the ongoing recovery effort.

In a two-year update, the American Red Cross highlighted its emergency work after the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, as well as its recovery efforts over the past year.

“People in South Florida and across the country responded to help Haiti, and their donations are making a difference with recovery and rebuilding,” said Sam Tidwell, CEO of the South Florida Red Cross. “The money provided life-saving relief to millions of Haitians after the earthquake and is now being used for longer-term housing, health, safe water and other recovery programs.”

Other highlights of the past year include:

• Providing clean water and sanitation services to more than 369,000 people
• Providing health services and hygiene education to more than 2.4 million people
• Reaching more than 3 million people with cholera treatment and prevention
• Teaching more than 436,000 people how to better prepare for disasters
• Providing livelihoods assistance – grants, jobs and other help – to 114,000 people

The American Red Cross received about $486 million in donations following the earthquake, and has spent and signed agreements to spent $330 million on Haiti earthquake relief and recovery efforts in the first two years. The largest portion of spending has gone to food and emergency services, followed by housing, water and sanitation, health, livelihoods, disaster preparedness, and response to the cholera outbreak.

The two-year report on Red Cross relief and recovery efforts in Haiti can be found at www.redcross.org/haiti.