January – December 2011
As we reported in the one-year progress report, Oxfam raised approximately $98 million for its three-year earthquake response program. A further $8 million income was raised in 2011, bringing total income raised to $106 million. By the end of 2011, Oxfam will have spent approximately $96 million. These funds have been used to meet the basic needs of earthquake survivors and to establish more durable solutions to people’s long-term poverty.
The main theme of this report is transition, set within a context of continuing humanitarian need, with more than half a million people still acutely affected two years on. Detailed sections cover Oxfam’s work in the following areas:
- Provision of safe water and sanitation facilities;
- Economic development and job creation;
- Rebuilding communities;
- The need for protection;
- A long-term partnership approach.
This report is intended to account to the individuals, governments, and other institutions that have given so generously to the Earthquake Fund, and to partner organizations, allies, staff, and volunteers.
Outlook
Oxfam is committed to the reconstruction process in Haiti, and will develop innovative programs to help empower local communities and build the foundations of a stronger civil society. This will involve:
- Working closely with local government authorities in areas where water, sanitation and public health facilities are poor and permanent solutions can be established;
- Helping communities and local authorities to clear garbage, unblock drainage channels and improve sanitation facilities, and through this to be part of a process of rebuilding neighborhoods;
- Providing timely grants and loans to encourage the growth of small and medium sized businesses, with a view to these then taking on other employees;
- Extending activities with small-scale farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs to strengthen their endeavors to rebuild agricultural production and marketing activities;
- Ensuring that Oxfam retains a strong humanitarian capability to facilitate rapid response to emergencies, alongside strengthening disaster mitigation programs at a community level so that people can prepare for and be less vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding or future earthquakes;
- Investing in building the skills and capacity of local organizations so that they operate more effectively, and strengthening networks of partners and NGOs so that information and learning can be shared.
