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Haiti: City of Jacmel to close last earthquake camps
So far, a cholera epidemic has claimed more than 7,000 lives and infected over half a million Haiti citizens since it began in October 2010.
Since the earthquake, 14,000 families have received a US$500 subsidy to cover rent payments for up to a year, encouraging them to leave the camps, according to the IOM. In addition, around 13,000 families have received assistance to repair their damaged homes.
But the government of Haiti and international aid community have been criticised for the slow pace of resettlement.
Families living in camps want to leave but many have nowhere to go. Most camp residents do not own any land and few new permanent homes are being built in Port-au-Prince.
Efforts to resettle homeless Haiti citizens in new housing or repaired homes have been hampered by political uncertainty, weak coordination and the cholera epidemic, along with longstanding land tenure problems.
A shortfall in funding for activities to improve access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation is also a concern. According to the U.N. humanitarian agency (OCHA), the 2012 appeal for Haiti is the least funded in the world – so far only 19 per cent of the US$230 million requested has been received.
