Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of Parliament, colleagues from CARE and UNICEF. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the ongoing efforts in Haiti and the role of the Red Cross.
There is no need to mention the events that have brought us here today. We are all aware of the destruction and devastation caused by the Haitian earthquake about 20 months ago.
We are here to talk about the progress made and the challenges faced in reconstructing Haiti for the Haitian people. We have had many successes, but the situation on the ground, as has been reported in the media, means that there is still a lot of work to do.
The Canadian Red Cross has been involved in all the relief operations in Haiti. We were on the ground shortly after the earthquake and we played an important role in the initial relief activities. Thanks to the generous financial support of CIDA, we deployed an emergency field hospital in order to fight the cholera epidemic which occurred last year, in December.
With the generosity and support of the federal government, through CIDA, we have been a partner on the development side of Haiti's recovery since the outset. We have been a leader in providing shelter, in supporting the health systems of the country, and in addressing disaster preparedness.
There are three critical phases following a disaster: emergency, recovery, and long-term planning and development.
I think we met with members of this committee previously. Some of you may recall that the emergency phase in Haiti was much longer than what we've seen in other contexts. In terms of the Red Cross, there were 14,400 tonnes of aid, one million relief items, and 2.5 million litres distributed to over 300,000 people daily; medical care for 216,000 people; and 100 camps sheltering 172,000 people.
From emergency, we transferred to the task of rebuilding lives through the recovery phase. This has included the completion of more than 18,000 earthquake-resistant shelters. It has also included shelter solutions, such as repairs to housing and grants for housing rentals or repairs.
Finally, we're looking towards long-term planning to ensure that efforts can be sustained. This includes a health care initiative, which I'll describe shortly.
A major focus of our efforts during the recovery phase has been to create safe, secure shelter in communities, which includes adequate water supplies, proper sanitation, and, where possible, access to community health.
The international movement of the Red Cross will contribute shelters for 30,000 families through projects ranging from repairing damaged housing, to rebuilding shelters, to building shelters that can withstand future disasters. Canada's contribution to this initiative is the provision of 15,000 shelter solutions through generous public donations and the federal government matching program.
The Canadian Red Cross will construct about half of these shelters, housing 7,500 families, in places such as Leogane, one of the hardest hit areas, where over 90% of buildings were destroyed. We're proud to say that we have completed two-thirds of this project. The additional shelters will be completed by the end of March 2012. In fact, these shelters can resist hurricane winds up to category 3. They represent, really, small homes that will last for over 10 years. And in many cases, they offer better living conditions than what was available to many Haitians prior to the earthquake.
In optimal conditions, an emergency shelter can be built in a few days. All that work can be done thanks to the participation and the support of the local population. On the ground, under the supervision of the Canadian Red Cross, it is mainly Haitians who are helping Haitians.
Some of our long-term projects in Haiti include a $25 million initiative to reinforce Haiti's fragile health system. We've signed an agreement with the Haitian Ministry of Health and three Canadian health organizations offering maternal and neonatal health programs. The five-year program will make it possible to reconstruct and strengthen the health care system for the most vulnerable groups in the country's southeast region. In addition we are participating in the rebuilding of the main hospital in Jacmel, with a focus on the maternity and children's sections.
We have begun programming on community-based health. This includes providing basic health education messages to the public that are critical towards preventing the spread of disease. Training, public education, prevention, and strengthening the capacity of the Haitian Red Cross to deliver health services are all part of this initiative.
These long-term initiatives grew out of the obvious gap in the health system, which was highly evident throughout the emergency phase of the earthquake when the Red Cross treated 216,000 patients.
Haiti experienced yet another emergency at this time last year. I think you previously talked about the cholera outbreak. The country's health system did not have the expertise or capacity to address this new crisis. In response, the Canadian Red Cross deployed for the first time a field hospital to address the deadly cholera outbreak. The hospital, created in partnership with the Canadian government, treated over 1,600 people and was handed over to the Haitian Red Cross in March to give them the means and knowledge to address future outbreaks. We're proud to say this hospital is fully managed by the Haitian Red Cross and continues to treat patients.
We're making progress, but many challenges and complexities remain. They will not be resolved quickly or easily. Of course, many of these issues existed before the earthquake. One thing that will remain constant will be the presence of the Red Cross. We have a long-term commitment to Haiti that goes beyond the initial emergency and recovery phases.
Many of the concerns about reconstruction have been discussed at this panel. These range from a lack of adequate space to clearing rubble, as well as logistical challenges such as poor infrastructure and supply chain issues.
As the shelters are built, the need for labour decreases. This is a concern as we start to wrap up some of the construction projects. In areas of poverty, jobs are at a premium, and job losses, even temporary ones, create tension and increased security issues in different communities.
The humanitarian situation in Haiti remains precarious. There are over 600,000 people who remain in camps without sufficient access to shelter and basic water and sanitation. Reconstruction, while progressing, will continue to take time. It's essential that all involved remember the pressing nature of the situation. We can ill afford to relax our efforts.
In conjunction with supportive governments, we will continue to move forward even in the face of complexity and possible criticism. We are committed to stay the course with our Haitian partners, the Haitian Red Cross, and continue to invest in communities.
In conclusion, I'd like to add that around the world the Red Cross is working closely with governments and other humanitarian actors and within the Red Cross movement to maximize our impact. Together we have made some important investments in Canada and around the world.
In addition to the mobile hospital, we have relief supplies ready to be shipped to respond to urgent needs. We have trained Red Cross staff and volunteers who are well prepared to face the most complex of disaster situations. This standby capacity requires investment every day. We're grateful for the support we receive in Canada.
Our unique experience around the globe makes us a valuable partner to the Government of Canada on policy development for international humanitarian disaster relief, recovery, and long-term development. With regard to today's subject, as I think you'll have appreciated from our remarks, we're here today with a wide base of knowledge and expertise, and we're eager to respond to any questions you may have.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.